


Through Windows

by jenniferpizza



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AHHHHHHHHHHH, F/M, ladrien, with some ladynoir and adrinette
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 11:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5867695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenniferpizza/pseuds/jenniferpizza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Windows can lead to a lot of things, more than people would like to admit. It's when Marinette looks into this one, though, is when it brings a whole lot of other things into her life. Some she wanted, others she tried to avoid. And it all revolves around one Adrien Agreste.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. watch your garden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *screams for twenty years* this marks my return to fanfiction after maybe three years (with my chapters longer this time too yay) so like!! im excited even though i dont really think that this is my best work despite it being almost 3k+ words longer than my first ones. also my first thing on ao3, even though ive had this acct since august (still v confused on how to use this.....)  
> anyways. wheres my ladrien episode mr. astruc.

Ladybug leapt from rooftop to rooftop, swinging her trusty yo-yo to soar across the numerous building. She enjoyed the cool night air that rushed through her hair as she flew through the skyscrapers and trees and what not. It had to be her favorite part of patrol. She couldn’t really this when she was Marinette, considering how she lacked Ladybug’s enhanced abilities like super speed and strength. So she came to cherish those few nights of the weeks where she felt absolutely free. However, despite the excitement and adrenaline that came with patrol days, she had to stay on task and look around for suspicious activity. So far, she hadn't seen anything that could've hinted towards an akuma attack the two hours she had been outside, but she couldn't end her watch over the city now. At that point, though, she wanted nothing more than to rest her tired legs. So she decided to stop on a tall building with a dark red brick roof just ahead of her, high enough to see people still walking around and shops still open even though it was getting pretty late. She could rest and get a good view of one of the busiest streets in Paris at the same time. The red clad superhero sat down, blue eyes roaming the area around her. She also enjoyed the bright lights softly illuminating the many shops nearby, giving the space ahead of her a serene atmosphere.

 Although the spot had many advantages, she and Chat usually didn’t meet up there. They usually stuck around the Eiffel Tower or The Seine, seeing as how both locations were attended by innocent tourists and civilians each night, an easy target for Hawk Moth. However, Chat had to cancel that day for reasons he hadn't told her. She knew he wasn't lying, since he was usually the one to be at the meeting spot first and was always excited about patrols through their calls, even though they didn't do much except wander around. The news disappointed her though, since she wasn't as strong by herself when it came to dealing with akumas, even if she was the one who had the power to cleanse the butterflies from evil, which her partner didn't have.

 She felt kind of lonesome too, with her alley cat not beside her. She'd never admit it to his face, but she sometimes liked his cat puns. Not because they were funny, because they _oh so weren't._

 Ok, maybe a little.

 But it was nice to know that Chat was still there, happily beside her and keeping her company. They were also able to maintain an easygoing conversation throughout patrol. They never really got deep into chats, mainly because of her request of privacy, which Chat Noir respected.

 She didn't know how to feel about his constant flirtations, though. Ladybug lay down against the rooftop, looking up at the crescent moon above her. She would've given him a chance. They've been partners for three years, after all. And he's one of the people she trusts the most in her life.

 That is, if it weren't for Adrien.

Adrien, the model that stole her heart a little over a year ago. Her face flushes at just the thought of him, the corners of her lips going up. Maybe she'd be able to see him tonight. Sometimes, when she and Chat were patrolling, she'd see her classmates at their windows or on their balconies. On the rare times they passed by the Agreste mansion though, Ladybug sadly never saw him, she assumed because of his lengthy schedule. She's been meaning to ask Chat if they could pass by there more often at the prospect of seeing her crush, but she was too scared to. It would've been too suspicious and probably would wind them up in an awkward conversation. And she wasn’t sure if he would get jealous or not. Since her partner was absent that day, she planned on taking the longer way home so she could maybe see her crush. Even if it was from afar.

 Seeing the town clock across from her, she realized that it was getting a little late. She stood up and prepared to leave, knowing that her miraculous often expired after a few hours (without using Lucky Charm). Besides, it was getting kind of chilly outside, and wearing only a spandex suit did not keep her warm. And she wanted to see Adrien before it got too late. She felt kind of scared of doing something like that, though. Maybe Adrien would think she was some sort of stalker. So she decided to stall and swung herself down to the ledge of one of the building's many windows, landing with her back to it, along with her gloved hands pressing against the glass. From where she stood, she could hear smooth jazz playing from the inside and the clinking sounds of metal eating utensils against porcelain plates, as well as hearty laughter from whoever had been just a couple feet behind her. She didn't know the restaurant's name, but she had a feeling that it was prestigious and well known, considering a couple designer stores and other famous restaurants were located just right down the street.

 Ladybug turned her head around, finally viewing what was inside and saw a table draped over with a simple red cloth seated by a couple of men in suits, engaged in conversation. The man to the left of the table was some famous American designer she kept forgetting the name of, and to the other direction was Gabriel Agreste, sporting a serious expression on his face. Next to him was...

  _Quand on parle du loup!_ So much for stalling.

 She froze when she saw Adrien, his face illuminated by the soft light above the table. Marinette was able to make out the darker highlights of his mostly light blonde hair, and the tinge of red on his cheeks. Part of her wanted to run out of shyness, but this was what she had planned to do anyway. Sighing, she pressed her hand against the glass pane, noting his sullen look. Adrien was usually smiling at school with his green eyes gleaming brightly. This time, however, his eyes were downcast and focused on his lap, a frown on his lips. He hadn't even touched the steak in front of him, and none of the two people at the table even glanced in his direction, not even his father.

 Marinette knew that he didn't receive much attention from his dad, something she learned from eavesdropping conversations between Adrien and Nino during class. Marinette always had her parents at home and generally had a good family life, so she couldn’t really relate to what he was going through. However, she still sympathized him and wanted to take him away from his awful father.  She really wanted to gather him up in her arms too, considering how sad he looked in that moment. But she knew she couldn't right now. It’d be weird. And she _most definitely_ didn't have the guts to as her regular self, either.

 His frown turned even deeper, his eyebrows furrowing in what she perceived as anger. Ladybug soon became worried. His distraught mood could make him a possible target for Hawk Moth, and sooner or later a butterfly could enter through the doors of the restaurant and with it, turn him into an akuma victim. Her eyes went wide at the idea. She wouldn't be able to face him off in his akumatized form, not wanting to see such a sweet, kind person become someone that she would have to fight. And to add to all of that, Chat Noir was not there to aid her.

 Before she could grab and swing her yo-yo up to the roof to watch for any butterflies come by the building, he looked up at her and their eyes locked together. She froze her hand from where it was over her weapon, and dropped it to her side.

 She hoped the night covered the red tinge on her cheeks as they stared at each other. The way they were looking at each other now was similar to when The Mime akuma villain was attacking Paris, and Adrien had rolled down his car window while Ladybug shouted warnings to leave the area, and the two of them looked at one another in awe for what seemed like forever. Of course, they had been interrupted by the villain himself. However, this time was different. No akumatized people were interfering their moment. She noticed a great intensity in his green eyes, and that his pupils had shrunken. Without a doubt hers probably looked similar. Neither of them dared to move a muscle, as time had seemed to have frozen between the two. But not until he slowly raised his hand from where it had been positioned on his lap underneath, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile as he gave her a thumbs up.

 Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What could that mean? Was he just supporting the superhero? Or had he sensed her concern? She knew Alya had posted at one point on the Ladyblog about how akumas were formed, getting her information from former victims of the evil butterflies, maybe he had read about it. Her notion was further supported when he mouthed the words 'don't worry' to her before placing his hand down on the table near his plate. He continued, forming his mouth to from the words ‘I’m fine’ and giving her another small grin. So _he had_ known.

 She nodded back, attempting to give him a smile back but she sensed that it came off as nervous. He opened his mouth to say something else, before he was interrupted by his father, who had an annoyed expression on his face and started to ask his son something, to which Adrien hastily replied to, flashing his eyes from his father to Ladybug.  After speaking to Mr. Agreste, Adrien focused on her again for a quick second, before continuing what he was about to say to her.

_“Désolé”_

 She looked at him curiously, wondering what he meant by that. What was he giving her an apology for? He hadn't done anything wrong. But she had no time to ponder on it more when one of the designers jerked his head around to look outside the window. Before she could even process what was happening, she leapt to the next ledge, an empty table behind the window. When she was nearing the edge of the building, she swung her yo-yo to the antennae of the next rooftop. She heard her earrings frantically beep once she landed on it and rushed to the bakery, running at top speed and further draining her energy, and was down to her last beep when she had reached her house. She had slipped into the balcony hatch of her house the second a bright pink light engulfed her form, releasing her transformation and returning back to Marinette.

\--

 As she woke up and started getting ready that next morning, she couldn't stop thinking about that encounter. They've gotten closer in recent months, she finally being able to have a full conversation with him without getting tongue tied. But she was still very shy and doubtful around him. Although the moment they shared the night before had been short, she recognized strong emotion in his eyes, and it was enough to make her heart skip a beat even a day later.

 Maybe he knew that she was Ladybug. She bit her lip as she looked into her bathroom mirror. She had a feeling she was wrong though, and she wasn't sure if she liked him knowing either. Marinette pushed away the thought and continued brushing through her blue-black hair and separating the strands into two halves and tied the two of them into her signature pigtails. She slipped on her usual attire once she was done with her hair, walking down the stairs with her blazer in her hand, sliding it on once she reached the last step.

 Her parents noticed her chipper mood as she came down, Marinette happily whistling to the tune of the pop song playing on the radio and having a dreamy smile on her face. While she was lost in her thoughts, her mother asked her what had happened, and had gently placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder while she spread jelly on a slice of bread. The touch startled the girl, Marinette almost dropping the kitchen knife.

 "U-uh," Marinette’s eyes moved all over the place while her hands stayed behind her back, attempting to come up with an answer. It was embarrassing to talk about boy stuff with her mom, especially since she's talked about Adrien on more than one occasion to her parents. But this time, if she had told the whole truth it would at the very least put her in trouble for sneaking out at night, and at the most reveal her identity. "I-I passed a math test today!" She finally said, giving her mother a big, nervous smile while stretching her arms out above her head.

 Sabine gave her daughter a knowing smirk before pinching Marinette's cheek. "You haven't even gone to school yet, Mari,"

 Her grin suddenly fell, her arms dropping to her sides. Her mother walked past her, shooting her a wink. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me," Sabine opened a cabinet above the sink, sifting through it. "But you'll have to invite him to dinner soo-"

 " _Maman!_ " Marinette stomped her foot angrily on the group, her face flushed red.

 Her father approached his daughter and laughed heartily behind her, putting his large hands on Marinette's shoulders. "Sabine, stop teasing the girl!"

 Sabine giggled from where she was still searching in the cabinet, before Tom turned Marinette around, leaning into her ear. "But if you do bring him around, you've got to let him try my new chocolate chip cookies. I just perfected the recipe and--"

 Marinette pulled away from her father's grasp, the color on her cheeks becoming darker. His father laughed as he placed the now complete peanut butter and jelly sandwich she had forgotten on the counter in her hands. He ruffled his daughter's hair, her bangs getting all over the place as she huffed. "I'm just kidding!"

 She grabbed a paper bag from one of the cabinets and put the sandwich in a ziplock bag, her mother having placed an apple and some water in her lunch bag behind her. When she was all set for school her parents embraced her, and she walked out of the bakery.

 Marinette practically skipped her way to school that morning, greeting the workers of the nearby shops. Her heart beat quicker the closer she got to the school, wondering what Adrien was thinking. Maybe he was thinking about the same thing she was, how their eyes met from behind the window the night before.

 However, those eyes didn't belong to her. Well, _they did_. But he didn't know that.

 Her skip came to a halt as she remembered that fact. It wasn't really her who he thought he was looking at. And yet he looked at her like he had known her... and what had he apologized for that night?

 Marinette opened the school doors, still pondering about it, until she nearly jumped out of her skin when Alya hugged her from behind and shrieked in her ear. That was the _second time_ Marinette had been scared to death that day. 

 She drew her focus to Alya's phone, which she had swung across Marinette's shoulder, shoving it in her friend's face. On the screen was a dark, blurry picture of Ladybug, standing on top of a rooftop. Marinette held back a snicker. During the beginning of her patrol that night, she stopped at the building across Alya's apartment, spotting her friend looking out at the street ahead of her from her terrace Marinette gave her friend a wave, and surprisingly saw the tiny flash of her phone camera from several yards away, seconds before she heard Alya squeal in glee and run back into her house.

 "Ladybug was outside my house last night!" Exclaimed Alya, who forcibly turned Marinette around to face her. "I mean, it's _kind of_ dark and all, but you can recognize her, right?"

 Despite the picture's low quality, you could clearly make out the outline of the hero's mask, along with Ladybug's trademark pigtails (which Marinette also sported). It couldn't have been a fake, but she knew that, considering that she was the subject of the photo. However, she had to say that it was believable enough to post on the Ladyblog.

  Marinette nodded at her friend in agreement, pointing out the distinguishable features of the hero. Alya agreed with her friend and telling her that her eyes don't lie. They both laughed, and Alya looked at the image again, studying it closely.

 "Chat Noir wasn't with her though," Alya said sadly, and dropped her hand from her friend's shoulder. Marinette looked up at her friend, seeing Alya with a small frown on her face at his absence. She soon brightened up though, shutting off her phone and sliding it into her jeans pocket. "I mean, it's so weird, right? Chat Noir is always there with her," She slides her arm through Marinette's, beginning their walk to the lockers. "I actually have more pictures of him than Ladybug. He even poses in them too!" The journalist takes out her phone again, flipping fast through her camera roll until she got to a picture of Chat, flashing his signature smug grin, showing off his biceps. Marinette rolled her eyes as her friend continued talking about her partner, having tuned it out as more and more posed pictures of him displaying on her phone. Marinette rolled her eyes at each one of them. What a silly kitten. He was always so... _over the top!_

 "Not a Chat Noir fan, are we?"

 Despite the person's close proximity to her ear, she didn't get scared that time. However, it wasn't until she turned around and stood what it felt like a couple of inches away from Adrien that she nearly squeaked. So instead, she froze, and tried to stop herself from screaming. It had happened once, when she closed her locker and found him standing behind her. Funny that both times he snuck up on her it had been for the same topic. He leaned away, shooting her a wink and she was sure she was going to _explode_. Marinette's memories of the night before were brought back, their eyes locked together in that moment just as they had been when they stared at each other through the window. She couldn't really ask him about Ladybug now. It would be too questionable, especially with Alya beside her. At that point, her friend had turned around as well, nudging Marinette’s arm with her elbow, signaling to her to respond.

 "U-um," She started to fiddle with the strands of her hair. "He's an _alright_ g-guy, but I've always preferred Ladybug myself," Marinette rocked back and forth on her heels nervously, while Adrien's mouth pulled up in a half grin.

 "They're both pretty great to me," He replied. "But I think Ladybug's the one that has stolen my heart," He brought his hand up to his chest, and Marinette swore she was going to have a heart attack at that very second. He walked closer to Alya, peering over her shoulder to view her phone screen, which currently showed a picture of the duo during the day, far up on a roof. Ladybug had leaned down and ruffled her partner's hair as he sat on the roof, legs dangling over the edge of it. She remembered that one. They had only just met up several minutes after the akuma formed, and Alya had been on the sidewalk across the building, snapping the picture. Marinette was slightly annoyed, but Alya always stuck around to take photos of their battles, even if it meant getting crucially hurt.

 "That has got to be my favorite photo," Alya looked up at Adrien as he spoke. "You should send it to me,"

 "Uhh..." Alya replied, attempting to formulate a plan that was to Marinette's benefit. "I've got no signal in here," She looked over at Marinette, winking at her. "But _Mari here…_ always had the best phone service, and I'm sure she has it saved on her phone,”

 Her blue eyes widened, meeting with Adrien's green ones as he approached her. "That sounds great!" He was standing right in front of her at that point, taking out his own phone. Marinette scrambled through the pockets of her own bag, kind of hoping that she left her phone at home that day but also wanting to _finally_ officially exchange numbers with her crush, having never given hers to him but having memorized his to the very last digit. She found it in the left pocket of her backpack, her hands shaking lightly. He gave her his number, she pretending to write it in her device when it had already been the first in her contact list. She scrolled through her pictures, a very nosy Alya taking a peek from behind her shoulder. To her disbelief, she found it, Alya having sent it two weeks ago according to her photos. She texted him the picture, and heard a loud pink sound come from his phone, and peered up at him, and saw him looking down at his device.

 "Thanks again, Marinette," softly squeezing her shoulder before catching up with Nino, who had called out his name behind him. Marinette stared at him dreamily as he left, almost letting her phone drop before Alya caught it, hitting her on the head gently with it. She twisted her head in the direction of her best friend, a smug look on her face as she handed her back her phone.

 "You _so_ owe me," Alya said, the two continuing their walk to class, Adrien and Nino walking not too far ahead of them. "And not just for Adrien, your phone would've been jacked up if it weren't for me,"

 Marinette laughed and brought her hands to her heart "Such a true hero. I have a feeling you're making Ladybug jealous right now!" The two girls chuckled at that one. If only she knew that Ladybug was standing in front of her right now, it probably would've made her laugh even more.

 Adrien still talked to Nino, laughing at something his friend said. Ladybug had won his heart. That was almost like saying that she was the one who did it, except that he didn't know that.

 Maybe that's why they had a close moment at the restaurant. He had been a fan and couldn't help but stare really. Neither could she, but he was her crush after all.

 Throughout the school day, she wondered what he had sorry for. Did he know? She shook her head at that, it having made no sense. Theories popped up into her head. Marinette couldn’t really come up with an answer to his mystifying comment.

 So during the classes of the day, she stared at his back, he sitting in the desk right in front of her. When he turned a bit of his head around, green eyes focused on his shoes, she saw the similar glum expression on his face that he had the night before.

 Maybe it had something to do with that.

 As the school day ended, she watched him walk over to his limousine, he waving goodbye to Nino. Chloe had left school early that day, so she wasn’t around to throw her arms around the model’s neck, Marinette grateful for that.

 But she saw the sad look on his face again as he stepped into the car.

 She knew that there were instances that akumas developed because of a long term anger. As the car drove away, it appearing smaller and smaller as it drove down the street, her worry grew.

 Marinette wasn’t able to do anything about it. But Ladybug...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> translations!!  
> quand on parle du loup - it's like speak of the devil. just in french (or rather in this case, think.) literal translation: when you talk about the wolf. and then the part usually leading up from that is: on en voit la queue (you see its tail).  
> désolé - i believe it means sorry in french.  
> if i used any of these terms incorrectly please tell me!! i only know basic french stuff from duolingo lol.  
> sorry for the cheesy description too lol.


	2. three times ladybug tried to visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ladybug's care and Adrien's curiosity doesn't kill or wear out the cat.  
> Not this time at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forgot to add that i'm going to be switching povs each chapter!! i'll be sure to add something in the chapter name sooner or later to indicate whose pov it is.

 Adrien leapt out of his bedroom window, a green light consuming his form as he became Chat Noir. He leapt from the rooftops as he tried to spot an open street cart or a flower shop. Most of the streets were empty at this time of night, he having only seen a couple of citizens walking up and down the sidewalks. Most of the civilians pointed and shouted, and he couldn’t help but give them a wave. After ten minutes outside, he caught sight of a flower cart, thanks to his night vision, and dropped down to the street. His landing was wobbly, and he almost tumbled to the ground. Chat regained his balance, however, and met the vendor's surprised eyes, the man’s mouth in an O shape. Another fan. He chuckled. 

 "Guess cats don't always land perfectly on their feet, eh?" He brushed some of the blonde hair from his eyes, the vendor still gaping at him. Adrien was used to it, whether he donned the suit or not. Being well known already throughout the continent before receiving the ring certainly helped with that. However, he liked the attention more when he donned his suit than when he had to smile and pose for a camera. Modeling wasn’t really something he was passionate about. But protecting the city was.

 Unfortunately, his suit did not have pockets, and had only found a note worth fifty euros in his bedroom. He didn’t really mind that second part, he had more money than he needed. But to tightly clutch on to it while he soared from building to building with the strong wind blowing was a hassle. “How much is a bouquet of flowers, Monsieur?" 

 "U-uh," The man stammered, still in a daze from seeing the hero in front of him. "Three," 

 Chat walked closer to the cart, looking through the large variety of flowers before spotting the red roses way towards the back of the array. "You'd think Ladybug would like roses or sunflowers more?" He asked, twirling one of the red roses in his hand while he eyed the yellow flowers to the right of him.

 "Well, I personally don't k-know her, but," The man stepped behind the cart, the movement garnering Chat's attention. "I believe roses would suit her more, they're a symbol of love and all,"

 He looked up at the salesperson, a smirk growing on his face. “A symbol of love, you say?”

 The man nodded. “If you really want to leave a lasting impression on your girlfriend…”

 Chat let out a small chuckle. Part of him wanted to correct the man, seeing as how they probably weren’t going to start dating any time soon. But he just played along with it. “Ah, yes, Monsieur. I _do_ love my lady with all my heart,” He places a hand on his chest. “I’d love to buy her both, seeing as I have the money, but I feel like it would be too much, _non_?” He leaves the banknote on the cart, and sees the vendor’s eyes widen.

 “It was only th-“

 He slid the money closer to him, raising his index finger in refusal. “Keep the change, Monsieur!” And with that, he walked away, extending his baton and letting it raise himself to the rooftops as he headed towards his and Ladybug’s meeting spot, flowers in hand.

  However, Chat stopped short once he caught sight of his partner on the building across from where he was standing, she going in the opposite direction of their gathering place. Ladybug had stopped then, surveying the area around her but not looking in his direction. Confused, he used his baton to launch himself to where she was situated, arriving silently behind her. He wanted to surprise her. But she still noticed, twisting her head around slightly. "Chat?" She fully turned around her body and noticed the flowers, and face palmed herself. "Oh, _Chat!_ "

 He handed her the flowers, a soft smile on his lips. "Sorry for leaving you behind yesterday. Hope you didn't get too  _clawed_  up without me,"

 She squinted her eyes at him, her blue orbs moving from the roses to his beaming face. Ladybug sighed and took the flowers from his grasp. "Y'know, you already apologized through the call we had earlier," _And_ at the restaurant, but she didn't know that. It was a senseless move on his part anyway, and he doubted that she remembered. She brought the flowers up to her nose, the corners of her lips going up at the sweet scent before she became serious again. "You need to stop bringing flowers each time you don't come to patrol," 

 He smirked. "But I _must_ make it up to my lady somehow,"

 She pursed her lips, her eyes still on the flowers. Ladybug finally looks up at him and gives him a small smile in return. "Thank you anyway," 

 They continued their path towards the meeting spot. He offered to use the baton to get themselves there. At first, she refused. But after seeing how the flowers kept her from using her yo-yo, she obliged. Her eyes were wide the entire journey, she not being used to his usual method of transportation. Chat let her down once they had arrived at the building overlooking the Seine. She sat down on the pavement, the flowers on the space next to her.

 It was a quiet night, he having been able to hear the wind blowing through the Linden trees of the river. Neither had spoken for what had seemed like forever, Chat not even saying a pun. Ladybug was looking in the direction of the Eiffel Tower with a concerned look throughout their silence. Finally, she spoke. "I think there could be a potential akuma victim,"

 "What do you mean?” He replied, hand going straight to his baton.

 She bit her lip, eyes away from him. "Nothing. Forget about it," Ladybug tapped her fingers against the roof. Taking in a deep breath, she stood up, taking the bouquet with her.

"The flowers will only wear me down," The superhero turned her back to him, she still focusing on the famous monument. "It's pretty calm tonight too. Can we cut it short?"

 He got up as well, his green eyes looking sadly at her back. Something really had to be worrying her for her to leave patrol early. Ladybug turned around, and he faked a smile, hoping that she wouldn't notice. Patrols were the only chance he had to actually speak to her, one of the only times he didn’t have to worry about a strict schedule. He didn't want to leave yet. "It's fine," 

 He had a feeling she could see right through his guise, but she hadn't say anything. The two bid their farewells and went back to their respective homes and their normal selves.

\--

  ** _Marinette_** :  ** _heres the pic u wnted !!_**

Adrien scrolled down from the text, seeing the photo he had asked for that school day. For some weird reason, he only received photos via his phone's messaging app at home. So he wasn't able to view it until now, having been so busy with the countless photoshoots he had to attend after school that day. When he arrived home twenty minutes before patrol officially started, he had already turned into his alter ego. But that was cut short anyway. He saved the image and went to his camera roll, setting it as his lock and home screen. 

  ** _Adrien: Thank you sm!_**

After typing down his thanks, he added a bunch of smiley emojis next to it. Nino often told him to keep it low on the smileys, but he just can't help himself. 

 He hoped the shy girl wasn't scared off from his use of emojis. Although they've been getting along better these days, he still got the feeling she was still intimidated by him. 

 Adrien threw himself onto the bed, phone over his heart. Marinette was a nice girl. Maybe he could text her in case he was absent from school one day, seeing as Nino was a slow texter, often taking hours to respond between texts. Although he still had straight As with his constant absences, he struggled trying to keep up. Seeing as she was also one of the smartest kids in the class, asking her for help sometimes would be a great way to get to know her. They had already done many activities with their other friends, but they weren’t that close.  

 It had passed several minutes, and the message was still unread. Perhaps she didn't know how to continue the conversation, she being so shy and all. Or she could be like Nino.

 He sighed and stood up from his bed and made his way to his window, sliding up the glass and letting the cool night air in. Although he wasn’t able to fully enjoy the autumn wind today due to their patrol being cut short, he wanted to appreciate it while he still could.

 Adrien poked his head out, his eyes closed. Breathing in the air, he smelled the scent of the honey locusts across from his house. He sure wish he could transform just for the nice weather, but Plagg scolded him last time he went out just for a quick run, and Adrien didn’t want to face his wrath again. Besides, the kwami had been sleeping on his bed, snoring loudly.

 He opened his eyes and looked up, seeing the more luxurious apartments of the city, along with _Le Grand Paris_ to the left of the buildings. He saw a figure pace across the rooftop of one of those buildings, and out of curiosity, looked closer.

 It was undeniably Ladybug. Despite how dark the night was, he was still able to make out her trademark pigtails and her spotted suit. Her hands were moving rapidly, them being placed on top of her head to her arms being stretched out right in front of her as she walked back and forth on the roof. She was the one that ended patrol early that same night, so why was she still out and about?

 Ladybug slowed down, both her hands on her neck. She turned her head, and their eyes locked together for the second time that week. A chill went down his back even though they were so, so far away. It was similar to the moment they shared that Sunday night, the same emotions of awe going through him. This time, however, Ladybug was the first to move, a tight smile on her face as she raised one of her hands and moved it robotically in what he assumed was a wave. An awkward one, at that.

 He waved back, smiling at her before she hid her hand behind her back and ran off, swinging her yo-yo as her form got smaller and smaller from where he stood at his window.

 That was the first time he saw her around his house during patrol hours. As he lay on his bed that night, he looked up at his phone wallpaper curiously, Ladybug smiling at whatever was in front of her as she ruffled Chat's hair on a building that was similar to the one she was just standing on.

 He shook when he heard the buzz come from his phone, a little banner way at the top indicating a text back from Marinette.

**_Marinette: ure welcome ! ! i just got back home from doing a vry very importnt thing !! srry for texting so late !!_ **

 He smiled. At least Marinette didn’t leave him hanging.

\--

 Maybe she had found out who he truly was.

 He stared at his phone background for several more minutes that past night, his screen automatically shutting off from it not being in use. It was then that he got the idea. He had put it down on his nightstand, telling himself that he was overthinking. But with the way she acted last night, with her ending patrol hours before they usually do, she going in the opposite direction of their meeting place. Above all, she showed up near his house, and had ran away as soon as he tried to wave hello.

 He assumed it was what he said to her that Sunday. _What_ a reckless move. Just one word and she knows, already turning her back to him. Adrien had been scared that she would be disappointed once she found out. And he didn't want to disrespect her wish of privacy either, even if he was still curious as to who she was. But she wasn't acting mad at him like he expected her to. Distant, maybe. But not mad.

 He'd have to find out himself.

They met up for patrol the day after he saw her from his room window. They met up on the same building they were on top of yesterday, the wind having picked up. She sat down silently next to him, her gaze still towards the Eiffel Tower. In fact, he could see his large house very close to the famous structure, and his heart beat faster with the revelation that it might not have been the tower that she was looking at.  

 She had only looked at him when they had greeted each other on the roof, and since then her back had to him and they hadn’t even moved from their gathering place. He tried to tell her some of his usual cat puns, but she ignored them, not giving him a nudge on a shoulder or an eye roll like she usually did.

 So, Chat decided he was just going to directly ask her about Adrien. He cleared his throat before speaking, feeling like he was going to mess up. "So, that Adrien kid..."

 Her body stiffened. "What about him?" Ladybug replied hastily, turning her head away from him even more.

 "Uh...” Chat really didn’t know how to talk about himself without revealing his secret identity. There was a long silence before he continued on, and he just went to the first thing that had been on his mind. “I heard he was voted France's Teen Sweetheart second year in a row," Adrien sighed internally. Everyone knew about it, he having been hounded by fans both in and outside of school since the announcement. Adrien didn't mind the title, but he didn't want to go to the endless amounts of photoshoots that would take him away from school for _two_ whole days in the following weeks. She finally turned around to face him, her cheeks pink and no longer sitting in the same stiff position. "I mean, I don't personally know the kid,"  _Ha_. "But I really should've gotten the title this year, don't you think?"

 He flexed his arm and gave her a wink. Ladybug only rolled her eyes. So far, she hadn’t done anything to imply that she knew something she wasn’t supposed to know. But anything could happen.

 "Adrien's a better candidate than you would ever be, silly kitty," She replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

 "Oh? And how is that?"

 The color on her cheeks became darker, she slightly leaning back away from him in surprise. Ladybug looked down shyly at the pavement for a few seconds. "I bet he's donated to a bunch more charities than you have!" She pointed a finger at his face, eyes looking up at him now. "A-and he's always nice to everyone," Her hand dropped back down to the pavement. "In _interviews_ and _stuff_ , I mean,"

 Chat was sure by then that she didn't know his secret identity. She had genuinely defended Adrien, (which satisfied him more than he was willing to admit) something he knew she wouldn’t do if she knew his secret. But it wouldn't have been very _Chat-like_ to end the conversation there, so he leaned a few inches closer to her, a smug smile on his lips. "But does Adrien Agreste save Paris from super villains almost every day, while wearing a devilishly handsome cat suit with an even _cuter_ bell to top it all off?"

 He _does_ , but Ladybug doesn't know that.

 She blinked at him twice, before laughing and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Well, although the bell is pretty cute," She taps her finger to it, ringing the bell. "He's got better fashion sense than you, kitty cat," 

 He brought a hand to his chest, giving her a hurt look. “ _Me-ouch!_ You got me there,”

 She rolled her eyes and playfully bumped her shoulder with his. Ladybug was in a better mood, and stood up, offering him her hand so they could finally begin patrol.

 He took it happily, she having let go once he was on his own two feet. But before they had left the rooftop, he caught her shooting another concerned look towards his house again.

\--

 When he got back home that night, he was relieved that she didn’t know.

 However, she had still acted … strangely. During the patrol, he still caught her looking in the direction of his house, and had become distant more than few times. Occasionally, she would be in a haze, he having to wave a hand in front of her eyes to take her out of it. He sighed as he walked towards the locker room, having finished fencing practice. Maybe it was a little too selfish to think that Ladybug was worried for his normal self. Perhaps she  _had_  been looking at the Eiffel Tower all those times, and not his house. Maybe that was why she had been near the mansion the other day, seeing as how the monument was right behind his dwelling. It wasn’t the first time she had gone off by herself for a secret mission, having went on one while he was supposed to watch over his classmate Marinette (even though she was more of a substitute partner). After all, it _was_ getting closer to the holidays, and large amounts of tourists flew in to the city around this time of year. She was just being extra careful, he assured himself. It had nothing to do with Adrien.

 He removed his fencing mask and opened his locker, seeing Plagg happily munching on a slice of cheese on top of his backpack. Adrien reached for the bag, startling his kwami with Plagg almost dropping the Camembert from his hands. He scowled at his charge as Adrien laughed and removed his fencing jacket, rubbing the kwami’s head. 

 Once changed into his normal clothes and having grabbed both of his bags, he left the school, spotting the limousine parked in front of the building. The sky had already turned into a mixture of yellow and purple hues by then, most of the kids having already left the school. All except for the fencing team, and the teachers who had the unfortunate job of grading papers.

 The limo came to a stop once they reached the mansion, he stepping out of the vehicle. Adrien was just about to open the gates to his home, until he heard a loud  _oof_  sound behind him. 

 He turned around and saw Ladybug, her hands on her knees as she panted. "Clumsy, clumsy, clumsy," Adrien heard her mutter, before she tilted her head towards him. Adrien waved awkwardly at her, her eyes widening. She straightened herself out, rocking back and forth on her heels nervously. That same nevrous smile from all two nights before had returned on her face.

 "Uh,  _hi_ ," Ladybug gave him a wave as she spoke, her eyes aimed towards the sidewalk. “Um--"

 "Ladybug!?" They both heard a fan scream from across the street, her phone already out. " _And_ Adrien Agreste!?" 

 Before the girl could even take a photo of the two, Ladybug was set into motion, already grabbing for her yo-yo. "Uh, bye!"

 And off she went, leaving him more confused than ever.

 --

 He slid his bookbag from his shoulder and set it on the wooden floor beside his chair as he sat down. Adrien heaved a sigh once he saw the empty seat next to him. Nino had gotten sick the other day, and had to stay home. It was a rare sight to see his friend absent, the DJ having wanted to keep his grades up that year. Nino was pretty much the only person Adrien regularly talked to in school. He wasn’t as close with his other classmates, they in their own groups or with their own best friends. He’s known Chloe for a long time though, but he wasn’t sure if she could qualify as a _good_ friend.

 Adrien’s known Ladybug for the past two years, and she was probably tied for number one best friend with Nino, considering how close they had gotten. It’d be nice if they knew each other outside the mask, have regular conversations, hang out…

 He sighed and pressed his cheek on his fist, his elbow on the table. Adrien remembered how she tried to greet him yesterday, and maybe he could’ve initiated a conversation if it weren’t for the interruption.

 Ladybug defended him during patrol two days ago. She even said that he was _nice_ and all. Adrien smiled. Maybe she was a fan…

He started to absentmindedly make hearts with his index finger on the dusty table, he writing the initials “L + A” in the center of them. Adrien was brought out of his haze when he felt a tap on his shoulder, the touch taking him away from his thoughts. He looked to the left of him, and saw Alya walk past his seat and to her own. He turned around as the girl went to her own chair, her index fingers pressed together in front of her face.

“So, have you seen Ladybug around?” Her wide hazel eyes looked directly at him, her fingers pointing towards him then.

 “Why do you ask?” He replied, twisting his body more towards her. Alya looked at him smugly, almost like she had found out a secret, and leaned a little bit forward.

“I’m pretty sure you already know the reason why _already_ but…” She whispered in a soft voice. His heartbeat quickened. Adrien should’ve guessed it from the start of the conversation. Alya constantly searched for the real identities of Chat and Ladybug, and maybe she had finally found something out. He pursed his lips at the thought. Although her words and attitude certainly hinted to it, he knew it wasn’t right to jump to a conclusion. He might out himself in the process. Alya cleared her throat “I’ve got some people telling me…”

 There was a long pause before she continued on, and he swore his palms were getting clammier with each second that passed. She lowered her eyes to the wooden desk and breathed in, making the mood even more dramatic. “You and Ladybug have been meeting up with each other?”

 He let out a sigh of relief, Alya looking at him strangely. He wasn’t aware that it had been loud enough for her to hear, and cleared his throat. This wasn’t really good news either, but it was better than his alter ego possibly being revealed to the entire world. “What do you mean, ‘meeting up with each other’?”

The journalist squinted her eyes at him. “Well, I’ve had not one, but  _four_  people send me pictures of her swinging by your house,” Alya took out her phone from her pocket, swiping left and right until she found what she was looking for, and moved the device so that the screen would be facing him. She raised an eyebrow. “All I’m saying is that you two looked pretty friendly in these photos…”

 On the monitor was the scene from yesterday, the two of them in front of the gates of his house, she greeting him with a wave. He could've sworn that there was only one person there to witness their encounter, and that Ladybug left way before anyone could snap a pic. Apparently he was wrong, seeing as Alya continued to swipe her phone screen from behind, each showing different frames from the same moment. Ladybug with her hands on her knees, he waving at her, her swift departure.

 Adrien's gotten used to unwelcome photos ever since his first photoshoot when he was a kid. And guiltily so, _maybe_ he didn't mind too much the implications that the two were seeing each other, even if it wasn’t in a romantic sense. He wasn't sure about Ladybug, though. Seeing as how last time relationship gossip involved her (which was really his own fault) some akuma victim impersonated him and tried to accuse him of stealing one of the world's most famous paintings. Besides that, he knew that Ladybug didn’t really like too much media attention, especially when it wasn’t akuma related.

 So he shrugged. “She was probably just patrolling,” Marinette had walked into the class by then, Alya’s eyes flashing to hers for a second and giving her friend a wave. “I’ve never seen her up close besides that one time,” He looked at her straight in the eye once she gave her attention to him again, one of his model learned grins on his lips. Her hazel orbs still roamed his face, looking doubtful as ever.

“Mmhmm,” She responded, clearly not satisfied with his answers. Alya tilted her head, seeing the dusty imprint of the heart Adrien drew on his desk. He moved before she could see the initials in the middle, she raising an eyebrow at his motion. Thankfully, the second Marinette got closer to her seat, Alya had slipped the device back into her jeans’ pocket and put her attention on her friend, the previous mood having dissipated when she started another conversation with her friend.

 Class had started shortly after, Madame Bustier writing down something on the chalkboard. He had just begun to scribble down notes when he felt something light hit him from behind. Adrien looked down at where the crumpled up sticky note had landed next to his sneaker, and picked it up and unfurled it.

 He almost couldn’t read what it had said at first, the paper having been stained with fresh ink and written in a messy, loopy cursive. As he straightened it out more, he could make out the words, all of them written in lowercase.

_I’m keeping my eye on you._  

_\--_

_"_ Can we go near the Agreste mansion?"

 Chat stopped short in his tracks, and turned around to see Ladybug with her lips pursed and hand scratching her neck. Her body language was similar to how she acted with Adrien throughout the week. Nervous, flustered… it was a stark contrast to her usually self-assured self. 

  Had he scared her that Sunday evening? Now that he thought about it, he really shouldn’t have said anything. She could think that he was Hawk Moth at this point.

  Well, he was only being _half_ serious about that.

 He’s tempted to ask her about her request, but he feels like it would be too suspicious. So, instead, he joked around with her. "If you're trying to convince him to give the France's Teen Sweetheart position to me, I'd be glad to help," 

 She moved her head up to give him an annoyed look, before sighing and pressing her hand to her face.

 " _No_ , that isn't why I want to go over there," Ladybug tapped her foot against the brick roof before continuing. "Remember on Monday when I was talking about a possible akuma victim?"

 Chat nodded in response. He hadn’t really paid attention to when she said that all those days ago, but he remembered. Chat hadn’t really know what she had meant, seeing as how they couldn't really predict when a person would become akumatized or not. And he was pretty sure if there was an akuma wreaking havoc on the city they would’ve sensed it by then. Besides, she had brushed it off when he had asked.

 Ladybug rocked back on her heels in the same way she did just a few days ago in front of his house. "Well, the other d-day," She scratched her neck, her face a light red. "I saw him and I swore he was going to... _y'know_. A-and I've seen him around town and stuff," He looked at her more intently at her recent statement. Around town, huh? Have they spoken to each other? Adrien thought about it more, but he doesn’t think that he’s met someone similar to his partner (although Marinette was close, but didn’t exactly fit the bill). Either way, he often had long breaks during outdoor photoshoots and waited for the shoot to continue in public areas. She could've seen him then.

Ladybug threw her arms out in front of her and sighed.  "I'm just... worried, ok!" At the end of her statement, Chat tried to fight back a grin. So she _was_ worried about him.

 "Is it a bad idea?" She asked, not daring to look him in the eye.

  He shakes his head. “But why is he so important though?” Now that is something he really wanted to know. They’ve looked after citizens that could be in potential danger before. Namely Chloe. But never anyone that could potentially become akumatized. Hawk Moth’s akumas were very unpredictable after all.

  She had frozen at his words, and he removed his hands from where they had been placed on her shoulders. "I-I mean, he's a famous model! Don't want to see one of Paris's most handsome guys turn evil, don't we?" Ladybug looked satisfied at her answer, until she saw Chat's smug grin grow on his face.

 "You think he's handsome?" He stepped closer. Ladybug's hands go up to cover her mouth. Perhaps she wasn’t just concerned, maybe…

 She had a crush on him.

 The red tinge on her cheeks further supports his theory. "That's what everyone says, right?" She replied hastily. "I've only seen the guy up close a couple of times, so who am I to judge?"

 He smirked and moved even more to her. Was he enjoying this? He'd hate to admit it, but he sure was. "But not as handsome as me, right _ma chérie?_ "

 They're in close proximity for a few seconds before Ladybug pushes him away, a sly smile still on his face. 

 "Tell you what, the kid's probably getting his beauty sleep right now," Or at least, that’s what he really _should_ be doing. He grabs his baton from where it hangs on his belt, and extends it to reveal his communication and tracking device, with the time way at the top of the small screen. "It's almost midnight, and nobody gets akumatized while they're sleeping," She raises an eyebrow at him. "Well, it hasn't happened _yet._ So how about you go see and talk to him tomorrow?"

 The pupils of her blue eyes shrunk. "Talk to him?"

 “Isn’t that what you were planning on doing anyway?” He responded. "Besides, I think anyone's mood would brighten up just from the sight of you," She rolled her eyes, but he could still see the blush on her face. "Oh, and I must add, that I will not be able to be there with you when you visit him,"

 She stared at him dumbfounded. After all, if _Chat_ was by her side during the visit, she couldn't really talk to _Adrien_ , could she? "How come?"

 He smirked at her. "He's a rival of mine, both in love," Chat winks at her. "And in teens' hearts. Wouldn't want a cat fight to happen, now would we?"

 She stared at him for several seconds, her expression indecipherable. Finally, she sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Fine, kitty. But you owe me,”

 Ladybug walked past him, and he catches up with her from behind. “Should I get you flowers then?”

 “ _No_ , but you owe me,” She poked a finger to his shoulder before they leapt off the building, and move in the direction of the Eiffel Tower.

 They continued patrol as usual, having disbanded around an hour later. Before they head back to their houses and they’re near his mansion, he caught her take a glimpse at his dark window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was... longer than i thought it would be? amazing.  
> i wanna try and update this weekly so yeah!


	3. chocolate box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's tries to be a flirt, wind's pretty cool, and nobody can resist sweets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> por fin! sorry it took so long. tbh this isn't really my favorite chapter, even if it is the first in which they actually interact (for a short while, really. but still). i had to start over like three times since i felt that i never got the "feel" right. and my original plan sounded like it was a regular episode with some ladrien interaction, which is something i kind of want to avoid for now. it's not like it's a bad thing, it's just going along with something like that meant that there wouldn't be any real interaction until chapter five, or even more ahead. and some of the dialogue feels soooo awkward in here.  
> i talked for so much lmao. anyways, enjoy :P

The sky was a light orange by the time she had opened her balcony hatch, Marinette having stepped out from her room and to the outside, she having walked to the metal railing. She looked towards the Eiffel Tower, knowing that Adrien's gigantic house was right in front of it. He had been on her mind ever since Chat's suggestion last night, and she couldn’t stop looking in the direction of his mansion throughout most of the day. And her dread grew with each hour that passed, knowing that she would have to talk to him soon. Even though the thought of doing so made Marinette very nervous, she was never one to break a promise, especially to her partner. And she’d had to do it at some point either way, knowing the potential danger Adrien was in. She tried to occupy herself with other things to steer away from the impending event, from beginning her physics homework load that had been due Monday to making countless colorful macaroons for the bakery. It didn't help much, and Adrien stayed a relentless topic on her mind. And her parents' worried looks when they had noticed her off demeanor that day only added to her anxiety. She had told them it was simply fatigue from designing the night before. Judging by the faces they had given her to her response, she knew they didn’t quite believe her. But thankfully, they didn’t question it.

 Marinette rested her head against the railing. She wished she could talk to somebody about it. In cases like these, she would have texted Alya, but she knew she would’ve been bombarded by thousands of questions if she ever mentioned visiting Adrien. Marinette considered Chat, too. But the only times they could really speak to each other was when they were in costume. Besides, she wasn’t sure how he would respond seeing as how he’s half the reason why she planned on doing it.

 She pursed her lips. She wasn't sure if she wanted Chat come along with her in the first place, anyway. If anything, it would've been... awkward. At least for her. And she probably wouldn’t be able to get a chance to actually talk to Adrien, either. But what was even peculiar for her was how he was the one who suggested going alone. He always tagged along with her for superhero business. Sure, he had given his reasons of a "cat fight", something she seriously doubted would happen. But they were a team.

 Marinette sighed, pressing her fist against her cheek. Perhaps he had things to do, like what happened last Sunday. But wouldn’t he had specified that? Or maybe he suspected her crush on Adrien. But wouldn't he have acted… jealously?

 "What are you thinking about Marinette?"

 Tikki's small voice had startled her, taking Marinette out of her thoughts. The kwami had ascended through the balcony hatch and was now near her charge, having given her a curious look.

 Marinette played with the loose strands of hair that had come out of her pigtails, not facing Tikki to hide her reddening face. "Nothing really,"

 "Is it about Adrien?"

  The blue eyed girl bit her lip, remaining silent for a few seconds. Tikki always read her mind.  "Kind of...?"

 Tikki moved in front of the girl's face. "Is it related to what Chat said last night?"

 Marinette reluctantly nodded in response, both her hands rubbing her neck nervously. "I'm just kind of... nervous I guess,"

 The kwami smiled reassuringly at Marinette. "I think you should go,"

 She bit her lip. "Really?"

 Tikki nodded in response. "Your partner even suggested it, Marinette," She floated to the girl's shoulder, Marinette now looking at Tikki. "Besides, didn't Adrien say he was a fan? I'm pretty sure it'll make his day,"

 Marinette smiled at her kwami, lovingly rubbing her head. Tikki's words nearly echoed the ones Chat had said to her last patrol, that anyone's mood would brighten up just by looking at her. Her heart ached knowing that it was actually Ladybug Chat was talking about, but it would put her at ease knowing Adrien was out of Hawk Moth's influence.

 She straightened her posture, giving Tikki a confident smile.

 "Tikki, transform me!"

\--

 She stood on a brick roof, blue eyes looking towards his house. She had been on the same place as the first time she tried to talk to him, the building being one of the more luxurious apartment complexes of the city. All those days before, Adrien had caught her, and she ran away home before she could’ve messed things up.

 Not this time though, she swore on it. She remembered which window led to what she supposed was his bedroom. Ladybug swung her yo-yo in the direction of it, the wire wrapping around one of the branches of the tree in front of his bedroom. She leapt from the brick rooftop, soaring the somewhat long distance to the tree. She had been used to jumping so far, though. And she was _always_ precise with her yo-yo. However, her face almost hit the bark of the tree, and at that second she realized she didn't really think this through. She landed on a branch with an oof, and squeezed her eyes shut at the impact. She almost fell off it, but her feet remained firmly planted on the tree. Marinette opened her eyes and stood up, hoping to see Adrien’s face pop out from the windowpane, just like it had happened last time. Instead, she faced a dark room, and it only contained basic furniture and not a single human could be seen. She sighed. Maybe it was too late, the sky having already turned a dark purple by then. She should've considered his full schedule, and that he had likely been sleeping at that moment. Even if it was the weekend.

 Marinette soon regretted the idea. She shouldn't have come. It was a bad idea anyway. She'd have to tell Chat next patrol, and if Adrien did get akumatized, so be it.

 She got angry herself at the last part. What kind of superhero would she be if she didn't protect the ones she cared the most about? But she couldn't just stay there and wait until the moment he woke up or opened his window to talk to him. That'd be creepy. Maybe, if she convinced her mother that she had too much homework to be able to work in the bakery that next morning, she might be able to sneak out. But who knows if Adrien was going to be busy the next day. Or the next. Or the next. _Or the next_.

  “Hello…?”

  Hearing the voice, she whipped her head around, hand already on her yo-yo. She expected a burglar to be in front of her, whoever it was trying to sneak into the mansion and steal the Agreste’s riches, but instead she caught sight of Adrien's blonde head from the window next to the one that she was in front of. His green eyes widened for a second, before softening and the corners of his lips turning up into a sheepish smile. Embarrassed, she removed her hand from where it was on her weapon and moved it to her side, and awkwardly waved at him.

 He stared at her for a few seconds, and she almost feared that she might’ve scared him with her being there. Her worry dissipated when he gave her a wave back, a large grin appearing on his face. Adrien moved further out the window, and the first thing she noticed was his fancy attire. He wore a white button up with a loose, dark green tie hanging from his neck. As well as what she thought were black slacks from what she could see of his lower body poking out from the room.

  His smile grew even bigger, and she suspected he caught her… _checking him out_. Her heart beated faster, to the point where she could hear it in her ears. She was tempted to cover her face, which already started heating up. "Oh, uh, hi,"

 She mentally face palmed herself. "How are you doing this evening, Monsieur Agreste?"

 He chuckled, but it wasn’t a _mean_ chuckle. Or so she hoped. “I’m not doing much. You?”

 Marinette gulped. This hadn’t been going too bad so far actually. He was beaming at her, genuinely happy to see her. It made her smile too.

 “Oh nothing much,” Her confidence had grew with his content reaction so far. She playfully tip-toed on the tree branch, giving him what she thought was a flirty smile. She swore she saw his face turn pink, and it only made her prouder. Her moment of confidence ended when she took a misstep, her feet missing the branch and she almost tripped. Why couldn’t her good luck work when she needed it the most? Her arms flailed around, trying to maintain her balance. Ladybug grabbed one of the other branches of the tree, her face turning beet red. When her eyes met Adrien’s, she saw how he had already started stepping out of his window, presumably to help her. He had frozen there, his cheeks turning the same colors as her’s before he went back inside, rubbing his neck.

 It was a… very awkward moment. Neither of them dared to look at each other for what seemed like hours, Ladybug too embarrassed at her slip up. She thought that Adrien probably hated her, having come to her aid and her not having noticed. He was the first one to break the silence after what had seemed like so long, he clearing his throat. Her eyes immediately moved in his direction, he shyly looking down at his shoes.

 “Um,” He started. “Would you like to come inside for a bit?”

 Her eyes widened at his request. She swore her heart rate increased tenfold, and there’s no denying that her face was completely red at that point.

 He didn’t say anything about it though, and continued smiling at Ladybug, even holding his hand out to her. Without even thinking, she took it and she felt electricity coursing through her veins, even if her hand was gloved.

 She stepped off the branch and entered his house, letting him guide her.

\--

 Cologne.

 His room smelled very strongly of cologne.

 It was the first thing she had noticed when entered his room. But then she saw the mini basketball court, the large computer, the king size bed, the extensive library. Basically every single thing that wasn’t usually found in a teenager’s bedroom. She had gaped in awe, he chuckling at her amazement, telling her that that was usually everyone’s initial reaction to entering his room.

 He had guided her to the large white couch in front of an entertainment system. Once she sat down, Adrien had sat down dangerously close to her, she smelling the strong scent of cologne again. It wasn’t a bad cologne, not like the musky one Kim usually used. It had a sweeter scent to it, one she couldn’t really describe.

 Their knees kept on brushing, Ladybug turning rigid at the touch. He had noted her reaction and scooted away from her, but it was still enough to feel greatly feel his presence, their shoulders almost touching.

 “The wind outside is very nice nowadays,” He had said, leaning back into the couch. “You must be lucky to be outside during this nice weather all the time,”

 She could feel her heart in her throat, and she really hoped he couldn’t hear it seeing how quiet the room had been. “Oh, y-yeah! Best part of the job,” She responded, trying to conjure up a confident grin. He let out a light chuckle.

 “I get to experience it sometimes,” He turned his head up, green eyes towards the ceiling that was so far above them. “Outdoor photo shoots give me that opportunity, and sometimes during school too during the early hours,”

 He bit his lip, looking reluctant. “The best time is at night, though. That’s when it’s really windy. I… open my window sometimes,” He looks over to her, a small smirk on his face. “ _Sometimes._ I don’t usually open it because of… stuff. But it was nice seeing you the other day,” His voice got smaller and smaller with each word, and she was genuinely surprised that she could make him so… _shy_. Almost as shy as she was without the mask, even.

 Marinette was surprised that she didn’t get flustered when he said that, even. Adrien saying that seeing her made him happy was only a dream of hers, something that she thought would happen if they were ever to have a domestic life together, he coming back from work and just saying how glad he was to be with her. Maybe it had been the mask that made things easier. Whether it was Tikki’s influence or just the fact that Marinette knew her alter ego was famous and generally loved by the populace, she didn’t know.

 “Thank you,” She finally responded, eliciting yet another soft smile from his lips. His lips. She shouldn’t really be thinking about his lips right, or even looking at them. If he caught her staring, he would probably be grossed out. He’d probably take back what he said that past Monday about how he was such a big fan and all. Seeing that through his eyes, he barely knew her and she was just some cool superhero that saved the city sometimes. That was all.

 Before he could notice, her ring started beeping, taking them both out of their own trances. She quickly got up from the couch. Marinette didn’t really want to go yet, but the insistent beeping in her ears told her she didn’t have much time left.

 She said a small goodbye, waving her hand at the blonde before heading towards his window, moving the grey curtains out of the way and sliding up the glass pane. Before she could leave though, he grabbed her hand. Marinette turned around, a hopeful look on Adrien’s face.

 “Could you come again?” He said almost desperately. Adrien gave her hand a light squeeze.. “I-I mean, if you want—“

 “Yes,” She said, before her mind could even work out what she had planned on saying.

  He smiled at her, and slowly let go of her hand. Her earrings beeped again, and she ran out of the window before her transformation wore off.

 When she was on the apartment complex again, she turned around and saw him waving at her. She waved back at him too.

 --

 The day after was patrol day, and she couldn’t exactly fulfill her promise to Adrien that day. She had been on the way to her and Chat’s meeting place towards the Seine when she had spotted him from just a couple building in front of her, a box behind his back.

 She had ran quicker towards him once she spotted him, he turning around as she got closer. Ladybug had stopped before she could crash into Chat, and they said their usual greetings to each other.

 And then he had moved whatever it was behind him to his front, handing the box to her.

 “Chocolates, for _mon amour_ ,” He said to her as she looked down at the box.

 He had a giant smile on his face when he gave it to her, too. Chat was getting her more and more gifts lately, they being a struggle to carry during patrol. But she managed through anyway, the night being calm those past couple of weeks. And then he always put on those puppy eyes (even though he _was a cat_ ) when he handed it to her. How could she refuse?

 She accepted them, and said her thanks to her partner. They had moved a little bit further, until Chat had sat down on top of a clothing store, a little far away from the Seine.

 “You said I owed you,” He looked over to her as she sat down as well.

 “I did, didn’t I?” She sighed. The box was a simple white, with a gold, fancy font on the front. Seeing how dark it was, she wasn’t able to read it. But she had a feeling that it would’ve been some fancy brand. “I didn’t expect sweets though,”

 “Nobody could ever say no to sweets,” He responded, moving a little closer to her, his chin just inches away from her shoulder. “That’s something I know,”

 Her eyes moved in his direction, his back hunched over as he peered at the box on her lap. “If flowers didn’t suffice my lady, then I’m sure chocolates would,”

 She had let a smile creep across her face and ruffled his blonde locks. “Thank you, kitty,”

 Finally, she opened it, each of the chocolates neatly assorted into individual rows. Some were drizzled with caramel syrup, others dusted with a white powder.

  Marinette moved the box over, motioning to Chat to have some. But he shook his head. “They’re for you,”

 “A cat’s got to eat too,”

  He sat there for a second, perhaps pondering her last statement, before shrugging and reaching for one. Chat threw it up in the air, the piece landing in his mouth. Chat smiled at her, showing off his chocolate stained teeth. Ok, she couldn’t help but chuckle at that. In fact, she almost dropped the box several stories to the ground due to her laughter.

 They continued eating the sweets in silence, all except for the soft sounds of cars driving through the streets nearby. It wasn’t until her fourth piece that he started speaking again. “Didya see him?”

 She froze, sucking in her lips. She was trying to avoid that topic, fearing that Chat would get jealous. He hadn’t been, so far. But she had a feeling that he was going to be at some point.

 “Yeah,” Ladybug responded, moving a piece of her hair that the wind had blown in front of her eye.

 He moved his hand in front of his mouth, still eating his piece of candy. “Is he good now?”

 She nodded, slowly picking up another piece of the candy. He cleared his throat. “Do you know if he uh… wants to give up that Teen Sweetheart position yet, ‘cuz—“

 Ladybug playfully hit her partner on the shoulder, shooting him a glare while she was at it. He cackled, and she just about shoved another chocolate in his mouth to stop him.

 “Well, uh next time…” He moved closer to her, his cold breath tickling her ear. “You should ask him,”

 She rolled her eyes, but she laughed along too.

\--

 Once patrol finished, she ran straight back to her house, the box of hers slowing her down a bit. She placed it on her desk once she entered her room, right next to the vase of flowers he had gotten her the week before.

 Tikki zoomed right towards the chocolates, opening the box and taking one from it. Marinette abruptly shut it. “That’s part of my lunch for tomorrow, Tikki!”

 The kwami happily munched on the chocolate, now at Marinette’s side. “It’s just like he said, nobody could say _ever_ no to sweets!”

 She looked over to the gifts, bringing her hand up to her forehead as she shook her head. _Silly, silly cat._ Marinette had to get him something soon, for sure. The flowers and the sweets hadn’t been the only things he had given her. He always gave her flowers when he had missed patrol, but there were other things, too. There was a bracelet she wore on occasion stowed away in a drawer, red ribbons with black spots on them that she sometimes wore as her alter ego in another. They just kept on piling up.

 Marinette wondered what would happened if she and Adrien ever became something. So far, even though Chat knew what was going on, he hadn’t reacted strangely. And he always stuck beside her.

 She was grateful. Marinette hated thinking about losing Chat. Even if his puns were cheesy, even if he constantly flirting with her. As long as she had him by her side, no matter what happened.

 When she went to bed that night, she hugged her cat pillow against her chest, and wished that her Chat would never change.

 --

 Adrien wasn’t at school the next day.

 Marinette was unusually early, even arriving before Alya and most of the class did. When her friend had finally entered the classroom fifteen minutes later, she had taken Adrien’s place by Nino’s side. Alya had been showing him something on her phone, Nino listening intently. It wasn’t uncommon that Adrien missed class. She knew about his busy schedule and all. What she did mind was Chloe’s loud whimpering at the other end of the classroom. However, she hated to admit it, but she was probably just as heartbroken as the mayor’s daughter was.

 Alya slid into her seat next to Marinette, having stopped her conversation with Nino.

 “What’s up?” Her best friend asked, her hazel eyes not tearing away from her phone.

 Marinette shrugged as she lay her head against the wooden desk. “Nothing much,”

 “Me neither,” Alya responded, moving the device into her jean pocket. She turned over to smile at Marinette, she returning the smile before her friend leaned forward against the desk and tapped Nino’s shoulder. He had been scrolling through his phone, as well. Most likely for a different reason than Alya was, she usually tending to the Ladyblog. “Adrien’s not here today?”

 Nino nodded sadly. Marinette moved her head to the side, seeing Nino’s phone screen opened to the messages. “Yeah, he just told me he hurt his hand _pretty bad_ ,”

 Marinette almost gasped, her hand covering her mouth before the sound came out. Luckily, neither of the other two had noticed her shock. “What happened?” Alya asked, her face becoming worried.

 “He was playing basketball in his room late last night, I guess,” He shook his head. “He’s usually a good player, but I think he hit his hand too hard against the ball. _Weird_ way to break a hand,” Marinette had shrunk back into her seat, her hand still over her mouth.

 “Are you going to visit today?” Alya continued on.

 “Tomorrow. He’s got a doctor’s appointment today in the afternoon,” Nino responded. “I can’t do it any other time today, either,”

 Finally, Alya turned to her friend, Marinette quickly hiding the hand that was covering her mouth behind her back. Alya shot her friend a smirk. “Are you going to visit, Mari?”

 Marinette shrugged in reply. “I’m not sure,”

 “Oh, c’mon Mari!” Her best friend leaned back into the chair, shaking her friend’s arm. “Besides, I’ve got… _something_ to talk to him about anyway,”

 Marinette looked at her friend confusedly, but not another word on the “something” came from Alya’s mouth.

 “Why not?” Marinette responded, Alya giving her a knowing smirk making her friend blush. She’d had to visit two times then.

 Nino turned around to face them. “Just to let you know, the mansion doesn’t let in late night visitors,”

 She nodded back to him.

 But she knew that _Adrien_ would at least let one in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the original chapter title for this one was originally "and one time she almost fell off a tree" to go along with ch. 2, but i just wasn't feeling it anymore. then i was searching up idioms for chocolate, seeing how it was something chat gave to her in one scene in this chapter, and realized that the term chocolate box could be used for an idiom (something i haven't really heard in my area, at least) meaning something pretty looking in a way that doesn't seem real, which i guess sums up what these two feel about each other (not too much really but it reminded me of them).  
> anyways, i went past 10k words, something ive never done before!!


	4. to make (me) feel better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's clumsier on his feet than most people imagine he is. Both metaphorically and literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> school... hit me hard.  
> hopefully i'll be able to write the next few chapters quickly, because i do have a plan for an ending written down and a preferred number of chapters in my head (probably 12 if not more).  
> i'm going to be discussing something from the new eps in the end notes in case you don't want to see that!

 He blamed his bad luck.

 Adrien had been lying in bed most of that day, his empty green eyes looking up at the high ceiling of his room that late evening. A bag of ice had been placed on his nightstand to the left of his bed, having used it for much of the day to alleviate the pain in his hand. It was getting kind of late then, the time on his digital clock reading 9:20. He wasn’t even sure if he would be allowed to go to school tomorrow, even though his hand was already patched up with a bandage and all. Sure, he had broken his _writing hand_. But he could write stuff with his other hand, too. Just more… shoddily.

 He told Nino and Nathalie that it had been an accident while playing basketball in his room, hitting the ball too hard against his hand. It was the only explanation he could’ve come up that would’ve not landed him in some deep trouble at the time he told his father’s assistant that past night. And he was pretty sure there were other better excuses out there. But thankfully, it had worked for him and nobody got suspicious that he had been out late at night, jumping and running around the streets of Pairs.

 What had really happened was that he had been traversing through the rooftops after patrol, moving along smoothly with his baton extended to move from building to building. Until he fell off trying to bend it to get to a lower edifice than the one he was on, and hit his hand hard against the pavement of the next rooftop. He didn’t think much of the throbbing pain then, and was more preoccupied with the fact that one of the workers at his house would notice that he wasn’t fast asleep already. He had only been a few blocks away from home, gratefully. However, it was at that second that his ring started beeping, and he had to come up with a plan quick. What he assumed was some clothing store had been closed by then, and he decided to jump to the ledges of the dark windows of the shop one by one. He only had to jump to three windows until he made a wobbly landing on the floor, the immense pain in his hand not helping, and hid behind a dumpster to release his transformation.

 “You should really get that checked out,” The kwami said to him as he made his way home, the model clutching his bad hand.

 “I’ll be fine,” Adrien had replied back.

 Turns out, he was _not_ fine. When he had gotten to the mansion, there were no workers around to fuss over him, or wonder why he hadn’t been tucked away in bed at such a later time. But the pain in his hand became _unbearable,_ and he couldn’t just ignore the dark purple color forming around the palm of his hand. And how his wrist felt like it was on fire whenever he tried to move it. He just couldn’t take it anymore, and had trudged off to Nathalie’s office to tell her about his injury.

 She had panicked immensely, cancelling several photo shoots and even almost calling his father, until she realized she could’ve possibly gotten _fired_ for Adrien’s mishap. He tried to calm her down, saying that his hand would be ok in no time, but she responded that the press nor his father _wouldn’t_ be saying the same thing. He was sent to the hospital soon after, doctors in white coats taking x-rays, nurses injecting him with things that made his hand go numb. Oh, _he hated it_. Never had he ever had to go to the hospital before. And he never sustained an injury while fighting akumas before, having been thrown to countless streetlamps, bushes, and even buildings. And according to Ladybug, thrown all the way to the Eiffel Tower while he had been possessed by the Puppeteer. He didn’t expect that hitting his hand against the hard pavement of a building would make it hurt so badly.  But if it weren’t for the added strength that the miraculous granted him, he was sure that his hand would’ve been _crushed._

 So he had spent most of the day lying around in his bed, upset at not seeing his friends that day. The only time he had actually done something was when the doctor had come over to prescribe pain medicine for his wound. He wished Nino could’ve come, but he had family over that evening and couldn’t leave the house until tomorrow.

 He also wondered if Ladybug would ever visit again. Her eager response to his invitation just a few days ago surprised him, seeing as she was always separating her superhero responsibilities from more personal things. It only gave him more evidence that she might have a crush on his civilian self, just as he suspected only just a few days ago. Although, he wasn’t sure if her shyness around Adrien was a good thing, seeing as she always had confidence in her stride. Maybe Adrien had brought out another side to her.

 If anything, he did think her fumbling over her words and rosy cheeks was a little cute.

 Maybe she would come that same night, or the day after. Knowing that he would have potential company sooner or later made him relieved.

 Company other than Plagg, anyway.

 The kwami had been talking non-stop about Ladybug’s visit, criticizing his flirting techniques and making fun of him practically that whole day.

 “I mean, who talks about wind?” Plagg had said to him as the small cat lay down on a plate on top of his nightstand, eating some camembert that Adrien had given to him. “You even dressed up all fancy knowing she was gonna come! You’re so _sappy_ ,”

 At that point, Adrien really, really, _really_ wanted to throw a pillow at him. But he knew it wouldn’t really stop him from continuing on, something he’s learned from the past. Whenever anything happened between him and Ladybug that caught Plagg’s attention, he never let it go. _Never_. Like that time Ladybug had gone to release her transformation in a closet after a battle with Lady Wifi, and she had left the door ajar. He had the chance to peek, but he knew how much his lady valued her privacy. Plagg couldn’t stop talking about that for _two whole weeks_.

 Instead of just letting his kwami carry on talking about _his_ love life, Adrien decided that it was time to annoy him back instead. “Hey, what should I get for Ladybug next time?”

 “Again?” Adrien turned his head to the left to face his kwami, Plagg widening his eyes. “See? This only proves just how corny you are,”

 “Not the point,” Adrien responded.

 “Isn’t this the _billionth_ time you’ve given her somethin’ though?” Plagg took another bite of cheese.

 “That’s an exaggeration,”

 “Ok, ok, but it sure feels like it is. Don’t you feel like she’s tired by now?”

 “But I’ve missed so much already,” Adrien placed his hand on his heart, Plagg rolling his eyes at the dramatic motion. “I have to make it up to my la-,”

 “Your _lady_ , got that. But I’m here for you to have powers to fight akumas, not aid you in your love life,” Plagg had said in a serious and annoyed tone, surprising Adrien. The kwami took most things with a grain of salt, and didn’t take his role as the granter of Adrien’s powers seriously most of the time.

 So, Adrien sat up from the bed, looking over to his nightstand and aimed his best puppy eyes at his kwami. “C’mon, just one more time?”

 Plagg stared him down, giving his charge a judgmental look. Adrien’s puppy eyes only kept on getting larger, and Plagg really could _not_ stand it, so he sighed and flew off the plate and up to the library, avoiding Adrien’s gaze.

 “Hey, you still haven’t answered my question!” Adrien called out to him from his bed.

 It was probably the zillionth time Plagg had sighed that day, and at that point he was getting pretty worn out by his charge. “You’re wearing her down with those things, y’know. And it’s really, _really_ starting to show,”  

 “We already went over this,”

 “Ugh, fine,” Plagg responded. “Get her some chocolate, then,”

  Adrien leaned back into his bed, arms behind his head with a smirk growing on his face due to Plagg’s annoyance. “I already got her those!”

 Plagg sharply turned his small black head around. “Get her cheese then! Everyone lov-,” They’re interrupted by a tapping sound, having startled the both of them. Plagg looked over to the direction of the room’s window and snickered. “Why don’t you go ahead and ask her _yourself?_ ”

 The kwami quickly flew into the shelves of the room’s extensive library before Adrien could even comprehend what Plagg was talking about. Adrien heard the sound again, and turned around to face his window, seeing Ladybug on the same branch she stood on last time, a small smile on her face. His heart leapt from his chest, and he flashed her a grin in response before sliding out of his grey bedsheets and walking to the window. When he was about to slide the window pane open, he realized he reached for the handle with his injured hand. Her blue eyes drifted to where the ace bandage wrapped around his appendage, and those azure orbs of hers previously brimming with mirth were now overtaken with concern at his wound.

 He slowly slid the window open with his good hand, and moved over to the left so she can slide in. She was still looking at his injury, and stepped closer to him. There had been a soft look in her eyes, and she gently took his hand into hers, her thumb tenderly sweeping over the wrap. It’s not the first time their hands had touched before, just a few days ago he had held her hand to guide her inside his house. But it still made his heart palpitate, it being such a sweet gesture. He wondered if he would be just as flustered as Chat Noir, but he doesn’t think that she would ever volunteer to hold his hand the way she had been doing so then anytime soon. It made his heart break a little, but he told himself that that wasn’t something to think about at that second.

 “How’d this happen?” She finally looked up at him, and their eyes locked together. Part of him wanted to look away from the intensity of her stare, the way she had been looking at him made his heart want to explode. But her eyes were so magnetizing that he just… couldn’t.

 “I-I,” He started, swearing his face was as red as a cherry by then. Her demeanor had switched greatly from all those days before, and now _he_ was the one nervous. “Hit my hand really hard against a b-basketball,”

 He almost face palmed himself then. Sure, it had been an alright excuse when it came to Nathalie and Nino, but he worried that Ladybug would find laugh at him and find him weak.

 Instead, she hadn’t expressed any disgust towards him, but continued gently holding his hand. “How long does it take to heal?”

 “I’m not sure,” He responded, moving his eyes to where she was caressing his hand. “It’s not that b-bad. You don’t have to worry for me,”

  “But I do!” She answered abruptly, stepping closer to him, their toes almost touching. She still had his hand in her grasp, holding it a little bit more loosely than before. He could smell the strong aroma of fresh bread and vanilla come from her form. He’s never really noticed it before when the two of them were transformed, even though they’ve been in close quarters before when he was acting flirtatious with her. Maybe it was because he was more preoccupied with the other things that had been around him to perceive it. But it enveloped him. And so do her eyes that gleam _oh so_ bright in the darkness of his room. As well as how she cared so much about everyone, including him.

 He almost wanted to kiss her, his eyes glancing at her pink lips. But it didn’t feel like the right time.

 The heavy tension faded away once she let go of his hand and looked towards the floor. Embarrassed, he scratched his neck, something he really wished he could stop doing.

 “So, uh,” She said, breaking the silence. Her eyes moved up to his for a second before looking at the marble tile below her again. “You’re the next Teen Sweetheart huh?”

 He’s baffled for a second, not even remembering about that silly title. But he recovered quickly, internally groaning knowing that he would have to do a photoshoot and several interviews the following week. That is, if his hand’s alright by then. “Yeah! I am,”

 She lifted her head, still avoiding his eyes. “Oh, that’s really great,” Ladybug stepped back. “Chat can’t stop talking about how much he wants that title,”

 He resisted letting a smirk growing on his face at the mention of his alter ego. “Well, he’s a great guy. I bet he would’ve won, too. If they allowed superheroes with secret identities to be on the ballot, of course,”

 Ladybug laughed, and he was happy to see that she wasn’t as tense anymore. “Yeah, I guess he is,” She pursed her lips. “But you’ve done so much, no wonder you got the most votes,”

 “I didn’t do much of anything, Chat Noir though,” He continued on. “Saves the city from disaster at least once a week, and I,” He pushed his hair back for emphasis. “Am just a humble model with a pretty face,”

  “Pretty face indeed,” She said quietly, almost like she was thinking out loud. His eyes moved to hers, and her face turns red. “I-I mean, that’s what they _all_ say,”

 This time, he let a small grin grow on his face. She had given a similar response a few days ago, when she had told Chat about her worry for Adrien. “Besides, where is Chat Noir?”

 He almost wanted to slap himself by then. He knew _damn well_ where Chat Noir was, and he almost felt guilty asking the question. She was still for a moment before she shrugged in response. “We didn’t plan patrol today, so I’m not really sure. He’s probably off… flirting with some girl or making puns. Who knows?”

 In reality, Chat was _failing_ at doing the former, and not just with _some girl_.

 With the thought of Chat in mind, he decided to take Plagg’s advice that he had given to Adrien moments before Ladybug had come inside his room. “What would you consider a good present?” He said, changing the subject.

 “A good present?” She asked, looking at him curiously. “Is it for me? You don’t have to get me anything, it’s ok!”

 “But for future reference!” He contested back.

 She pondered about it for a while, rocking back on her heels with her index finger touching her puckered lips. “Anything I guess. But really, you don’t have to get me anything,”

 “But—“

 They’re interrupted by the beeping sound of her earrings. Her hand shot up to where they were placed on her ear, and she looked up at him.

 “I have to go now,” Her lips were now pursed, blue eyes downcast. She headed to his window, and slid the pane up slowly. Ladybug stepped out of the room, another round of beeps ringing from her ear.

 Before she stepped completely out of the window, she looked back to him. “Can I see you tomorrow?”

  A big smile appeared on Adrien’s face by her question, not even bothering to hide it from her. “Yes, you may!”

 And with that, she disappeared into the darkness of the night.

 --

 He swore he was going to head straight back to superhero business as soon as his the pain in his hand became tolerable enough to not wear the bandage constantly. Usually, injuries like his healed in a week’s time. He didn’t think he’d mind some soreness, as long as it meant not leaving his lady completely in the dark. They were a duo.

 He called her later that night, opting not to use the video chat feature but instead just speaking with her through phone call, Ladybug having sounded exhausted. Adrien probably really should’ve considered the time, as well as how she was probably out patrolling for a good while for her earrings to have beeped so quickly earlier that night. Either way, he probably also should’ve considered that she might’ve had school or other important matters to attend to the next day and would need some rest.

 It was a couple minutes after the phone call that Plagg started speaking about her again.

 “If I were her, I would’ve totally figured you out already,” Plagg was back on his nightstand after having transformed Adrien into his superhero form, and was happily munching on a piece of camembert. Adrien had been sprawled out on his bed, the disarrayed sheets beneath him and eyes closed. “You kept on talkin’ about Chat Noir, and that time you said sorry to her a billion years ago. You just gotta put two and two together,” Adrien shut his eyes tighter. “And bingo! You’re found out,”

 “I’m pretty sure it’s not as simple as that,” Adrien opened his eyes, and moved his body to face his kwami. “And I only really mentioned Chat a couple times,”

 “A couple times is enough,” Plagg continued. “She would’ve caught you today if I hadn’t hid fast. What would you have done if that happened?”

 “But it didn’t,”

 “ _But,_ what if she does next time?”

 Adrien shrugged. He really didn’t want to deal with this right now, the idea that she would be disappointed knowing that he was Chat Noir scared him.  “Fess up, I guess,” He answered noncommittally. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done. Adrien did want them to disclose their identities one day, but he’d rather have the reveal be mutually agreed on instead of it happening accidentally.

 Plagg stayed silent for a moment, whether it was because he couldn’t think up an argument or he was eating, Adrien wasn’t sure.

 “Be careful with what you’re doing, Adrien,”

\--

 Nino wasn’t going to come until six that next day, so Adrien tried to catch up on the lessons he missed in his absence from school instead. It was hard trying to write, though, the pencil feeling out of place in his good hand. He even removed the bandage, hoping that it had been repaired enough to do his make-up work, but it still hurt like hell without the wrap’s aid. So he read the material instead, an array of textbooks scattered on his bed.

 It wasn’t until thirty minutes after school had ended that Nathalie came in his room, silently opening his door. He looked up from his physics textbook, and met his father’s assistant’s gaze.

 “You have a visit,” She said. His eyes brightened up at the fact that maybe Nino had managed to come earlier than expected. “Two girls from your school,”

 He became confused. _Two girls?_ He thought only Nino had known about what happened, and that the news hadn’t spread, unless…

 A blur of bright red curly hair appeared from behind Nathalie, Alya waving at him. Nathalie had left the room by then, and the girl came inside the room, Marinette following suit. He was really expecting Chloe and Sabrina, the former catching on to gossip fast. But at least he knew that these two wouldn’t talk about his injury. It would cause wildfire in the press, anyway.

 “Hey Adrien!” Alya spoke up, her hands behind her back. Marinette waved a hello to him, too, hiding behind her friend. “Heard you weren’t feeling so good, so we got you teddy bears!”

 Alya moved her arms to the front of her body, and in one of her hands was a Ladybug themed bear, the stuffed animal being red covered with black spots with blue eyes to top it all off. And in the other was a Chat Noir one, this one being a cat instead of a bear, the fur being entirely black and with a bell at its collar.

 “We got you both, because I didn’t remember if you said you were a Ladybug fan or a Chat fan,” She moved closer to the bed, Marinette still following her. “Mari wasn’t sure either, so,” She placed the stuffed animals on his bed. “You can choose either or both. Doesn’t matter,”

 The room was silent for a few minutes, until Marinette leaned towards the side of Alya’s head. “Weren’t you going to give one to your baby cousin as a present?” Marinette whispered into her friend’s ear, still being loud enough for Adrien to hear.

 “I can still buy him another one,” Alya murmured back. “His birthday’s not until next week, anyway,”

 Adrien looked over to the bears, and grinned. “I’ll take the Ladybug one,”

 “Really?” Alya said, Adrien missing the way Marinette turned bright red and how she hid her face in her hands. “Marinette wasn’t really a hundred percent sure, so,”

 He shook his head. “I’m a much bigger fan of Ladybug, honestly,”

 “Is there a bathroom?” Marinette piped in, her hands having moved away from her face.

 “Should be down the hall,” Adrien responded, motioning to his door. Marinette nearly ran out of his room, and he wondered what he did to make the girl so…. _intimidated_ by him.

  Once the door had been completely shut, Alya started speaking. “Was she probably just patrolling this time?”

 He furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

 “You know what I mean,” Alya pushed further, taking out her phone. “She came around here last Saturday, didn’t she?”

 Before he could respond, she showed him a picture of the superhero on her phone, Ladybug overlooking his house on top of one of the apartment complexes nearby.

 “It doesn’t mean anything,” He responded, knowing that she would probably want to keep her visits under wraps.

 “Alright Mr. ‘L+A’,” She said, his eyes widening at the memory of him drawing the heart with the dust on his desk almost a week before. He thought he managed to avert it from Alya’s eyes, but as it turned out he was unsuccessful. “She doesn’t come around this part of the city often, and now it’s the second time in the past week,” She slipped the phone back into her pocket, her eyes briefly looking towards the Chat Noir bear. “You tell me it doesn’t mean anything _now_ , but—“ She’s interrupted by the creaking sound of his bedroom door, Marinette walking back inside the room.

 “Are you ready to go, Alya?” Asked Marinette, her small hands shoved into the pockets of her pink jeans, giving her friend a nervous look. “M-my parents need me down at the bakery, so…”

 Alya nodded in response to Marinette, still squinting her hazel eyes at Adrien. “Yeah,” Alya got the Chat Noir stuffed animal from the bed before turning around to face her friend again. “Ready,”

 --

  It had passed a couple of hours since Nino left when Ladybug came again.

 His friend had arrived with a shimmery blue gift bag in hand earlier that day, rushing over to Adrien to look at his hand.

 “Dude, were you angry when you hit that basketball?” He asked, looking at his injured hand with widened eyes.

 Adrien hated lying, but he knew the truth would come with consequences. “I was just out of focus when I was playing,” He responded.

 “Well, I got something that won’t destroy your hand,” Nino planted his hand inside the bag, taking out a plush basketball.

 “Bro, I know basketball has brought your demise but,” Nino had said, placing his hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “At least you’ll have a less dangerous one to play around with,”

 The two boys had laughed, and Adrien grabbed the pillow with his good hand, looking down at it. “Thanks Nino,”

  He had left some of his favorite candy too, the sweets right beside the bear Alya and Marinette had gotten him that same afternoon. Maybe he would get the Chat one someday, but it felt weird owning a piece of merchandise of himself.

 Adrien had tossed the basketball up and down much of that evening with his good hand, up until he heard a knock against the glass of his window. The sound had brought his attention away from the plush, and it had hit him in the face. He hoped that she hadn’t seen it, but judging by the big smile on her face which her hand barely covered when he had looked over to his right, there was no doubting she had seen. Adrien left the bed and slid the window pane, Ladybug stepping in. She gave him a radiant smile, the apples of her cheeks a light pink.

 “You came again,” He said, mimicking her grin.

 She moved a strand of hair out of her face shyly. “I don’t break promises,” Her eyes drifted to where the stuffed animal was placed on his nightstand, and let out a high, light giggle. Adrien turned around, and saw the gift that had just been given to him hours before. In turn, he laughed as well, a bit more nervously than she did. Heat rose up to his cheeks, and he hoped that she wouldn’t notice.

 Adrien faced her again, she still looking at the bear. “It’s cute,” She said, face strangely even redder from what wasn’t covered by her mask.

 “Well, I am a fan,” He responded in a small voice. Suddenly, he can feel his heart thumping in his throat. It was much, _much_ easier to flirt with her when he had his mask on.

 She bit her lip, and rocked back and forth on her heels. “You are?”

 “I-,” He started, pausing due to the jumble of words that floated in his mind. He was trying to channel the Chat in him, but his shyer side was preventing him. “I’m a big one,”

 “Really?” She asked, a gleam in her blue orbs.

 He thought his heart was leaping everywhere in his body, from the palms of his hands to the heels of his feet. It’s not uncommon that he had gotten this much adrenaline from seeing her, his heart fluttering each time he saw her as Chat. But now she was seeing him without the mask on, the other side of him.

 “Yeah,” He responded.

 Before either of them said anything else, she reached for his injured hand, the softness of her glove brushing the tips of his fingers poking out of the bandage, and kissed it, her lips softly touching the material and she delicately holding his hand in attempt not to hurt it any further.

 Her face lingered on the wrap after her lips move away from it, her nose slightly touching it as she slowly let his hand out of her grasp. It’s something he’s regularly done as Chat Noir, and it shocks him to know that she would try it on him.

 She’s looking at him now, a soft smile dancing across her lips. “To make you feel better,”

 They’re lost in the moment, and it’s almost like that time at the restaurant all those weeks ago, except she’s not looking at him with awe this time. She’s got a dreamier look in her sky blue irises, and it makes a lazy grin grow on his face. However, the spell is broken once she widens her eyes in embarrassment.

 “I-I mean! I’m a pretty big fan too. And people want to see you again! And, agh,” She brought her palm up to her face. “I don’t know what I’m saying any more,”

 His hand moved to her shoulder, attempting to reassure her. “Guess we’re both big fans of each other, huh?”

 Well, for him he was more than just a fan. And maybe, just maybe, it was likewise for her.

 He noticed her trying to hold back a laugh, her lips pursed together. So he started laughing too, out of nervousness or happiness he didn’t really know.

 She let out a chortle in response to his own, the atmosphere surrounding them just a bundle of nerves and fears, but also warmth.

 And that’s when he realized it wasn’t just her kiss that made him feel better.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh i think another reason this chapter took so long was because i was worrying so much about his injury, searching things up and asking many of my friends about it. i assumed because he was in costume and with the added powers the transformation gave him it wouldn't be that bad of an injury (and maybe because he was about to de-transform it would've made him more vulnerable, seeing as how he's survived much worse). my friend, who doesn't watch the show but helped me immensely, told me that it would take 1-2 weeks for something like this to heal for the average person, and like i said with his super powers, it would probably be a shorter amount of time if he transformed at one point (which he kind of did in this chapter, but that was only for a few minutes to talk to lb). he'd probably take the bandage off first, or maybe it'd disappear with his transformation. i'm not too sure.  
> anyways... just want to point out that alya will have an important part in this story, and that it'll be further discussed in chapter 5 in case you guys were wondering. i think it's pretty obvious what it is at this point though.  
> *spoiler for new eps*  
> with the new eps out in i believe quebec i think i'll be more confident writing these two (as in ladrien) now. i was always so worried about going out of character but i feel better knowing there's something i can base it off of now. feels kind of weird writing it now though, since i wrote this before their first canon interaction. oh well. *spoiler end*  
> also the title of this chap reminds me of the neon genesis films, lmao.


	5. fais gaffe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fais gaffe - to be careful, watch out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy easter!!

She couldn’t get Adrien off her mind throughout most of that next day.

 In most of her classes, Marinette stared absentmindedly at her notebook, her feet, just about anything besides the board or her teacher. As a result, she had been yelled at by two of her educators, leading the class to murmur about her behavior that day. She tried to take notes to make up for it, but the events of the past night still creeped up onto her as she wrote, the words on the paper soon becoming barely legible loops.

 She could still remember how hard her heart thumped in her chest in his presence and how her cheeks were alight just from being in his room. Marinette was surprised that she managed to not turn into a mess like she usually did when he’s around her. As well as how he didn’t note how furiously red her face was, seeing as how she was sure that her blush extended outside of what her mask covered.

 “What’s going on, girl?” Alya had bumped her shoulder with hers during Ms. Bustier’s class, taking Marinette out of her thoughts. Marinette only pursed her lips and shook her head in response.

 “Is it about Adrien?” Her friend further inquired on, Alya’s voice lacking the teasing tone it usually had when she spoke about him. Marinette hadn’t taken note of that due to the pang she felt in her stomach at her words. It was the truth, though. Although the night before had ended on a good note, after she had left she worried that it was irresponsible of her to act so… _flirtatiously_. She only really started going there because of his potentiality of him becoming an akuma victim. But she had begun to think she had continued her visits based on her desire rather than reason, something she knew wasn’t wise.

 It was almost like she was going beyond her limitations as a protector of Paris. Her job was to look after the citizens in danger of the evil butterflies that infected the populace, not flirt with them.

 And kissing the palm of someone’s hand is _such_ a Chat Noir thing, it made her wonder just how much he was wearing off on her. Even more so, she would never have the confidence to do that as Marinette. Maybe her unexpected sureness had something to do with her fame or the powers Tikki gave to her, or even a mixture of both.

 Alya nudged her in the shoulder again, one of her eyebrows raised and expecting an answer. Marinette shrugged and looked at the board, avoiding her friend’s gaze.

 “Just, y’know,” She responded. “Tired,”

 It was partially true, she having gotten home so late after having patrolled much of the city and then heading over to the Agreste mansion to visit Adrien. And to add to all that, she had to complete a couple worksheets of Ms. Mendeleiev’s homework that she had completely forgotten about before she left. And physics was _never_ her best subject.

 She was partially grateful that Adrien still hadn’t returned to school, though. Mainly because she knew she would be a train wreck if saw him that day. She’d probably turn back into a mess of fumbling words just like when she had first met him. He would be even more weirded out by her, and if her hunch was correct and she had really passed a boundary the night before, the feeling would be mutual on _both_ sides of the mask.   

 Although the rest of the evening before had been nice, she still worried that he might’ve found her a little forward with the kiss on his hand. She had only visited him three times, and she was surprised at how he hadn’t said anything yet.

 On her way home from school, she decided to sketch a little bit to get him off her mind. Designing was one of her favorite things to do, after all. And it helped her destress from time to time, especially after dealing with pretty difficult akumas.

 As soon as she got to her room, she took her sketchbook out from her desk drawer and began to draw. She wanted to make a casual dress that subtly stood out. Marinette just wasn’t sure how the sleeves should look like, nor what was the best length for the garment.

 While she worked on that, Tikki flew out of her bag, intently watching Marinette draw. The second she drew out one of the sleeves, she groaned in disappointment. It was too puffy looking for a laidback look, and it looked out of place with the square neckline, too. But all the other options were too simple for what she was going for.

 Tikki flew closer to her ear. “Do you want to talk about it?”

 Marinette bit her lip before dropping her pencil on the table.

 “I kissed his hand,” She said.

 Tikki nodded in response. “You did,”

 “I kissed his hand!” She said again, much more frantically. “He must be so creeped out by me right now!”

 Tikki floated to the front of her charge’s face. “He said he was a fan of yours, Marinette!”

 “He was probably just saying that to be nice,” Marinette slammed her head against the pages of her sketchbook. “I bet you that he likes Chat more than me, too,”

 “Then why’d he choose the Ladybug bear over the Chat one?”

 Marinette moved her head to the side, her cheek squished on her sketchbook. She had been starting to worry about that since the second time she visited, he asking about Chat Noir with excitement in his voice. They only dwelled on the topic of her partner for a short while, but it still made her worry. And so that next day, when she had been in his room as Marinette, she was fully expecting him to take the other stuffed animal. But he said he was a pretty big fan of Ladybug, even later that night. She was a little embarrassed of how she rushed out of his room the second after during and her and Alya’s visit, and had wondered if her reaction would out her as her alter ego while she was outside his door.

 “See, Marinette,” Tikki continued on. “I bet he likes you just fine,”

 Marinette let a small smile grow on her face and straightened her posture. At that very second, her phone began to buzz from her bag. She crouched from where she sitting on her swivel chair to search for it, finding it and seeing Alya’s face on her screen.

 “Hey Mari,” Alya said as soon as Marinette picked up the phone. “Is it alright if I come over?”

 “Yeah!” She spun around in her chair. “Is there something that you want to talk to me about?”

 Alya was quiet for a moment, and Marinette got the feeling that she had hit a pretty big scoop. “I’ll tell you when I get there. I’m about a couple minutes away now,”

 The two girls said their goodbyes, Marinette placing her phone on her desk after hanging up. She peered over at her sketch, frowning at the drawing. She tore it out of the book, crumpling it up and standing up to throw it in her garbage can.

 She sat back down again, looking at the numerous pictures of Adrien above her desk. They hadn’t made a promise of visiting each other again that previous night, and she wondered if she should really go or not. Tikki’s reasoning had worked, but she was still worried that she was deviating from her original task and overall job.

 Alya soon popped out of the room’s trap door, scaring Marinette. Her friend looked over to the many photos that Marinette had just been looking at, her hazel eyes squinting for a split second before looking over at Marinette again.

 “Hi, Marinette,” She stepped further inside the room, closing the door beneath her. “He hasn’t healed yet, hasn’t he?”

 Marinette glanced at the photos before meeting Alya’s gaze again. “Yeah, I don’t think he has,”

 Alya stood there quietly for a moment, her pointer finger tapping her chin and her eyebrows scrunched together in thought.

 “Do you think,” Alya stepped closer to where Marinette was sitting down, her eyes still on the pictures. “That he’s not _just_ a fan of Ladybug?”

 Marinette blinked twice and looked at her friend curiously. “What do you mean?”

 “Do you think Ladybug’s more into… the model type?” Alya looked over to her friend, ignoring her question. Marinette started at her with her mouth agape.

 “Model type?”

 Alya stared at her friend, before looking at her toes sadly. “I wasn’t really sure if I should tell you this…”

 “Tell me what?”

 “I think…” Alya shook her head. “I _really_ shouldn’t be telling you this,”

  Marinette stared at her friend’s with wide eyes. Had she found out about her secret identity? She didn’t want to say anything yet, seeing as how she could be wrong.

 “Just tell me, Alya.” Marinette said in a hushed tone. She worried she would come off as a bit scared, but Alya said nothing about it.

  Alya took in a deep breathe, “Do you think Adrien and Ladybug are dating?”

 Marinette wasn’t sure how to react. She wanted to laugh loudly, take a deep sigh of relief, and scream all at the same time. But instead, she tried to keep on an expressionless look.

 “Dating?”

 “Yeah,” Alya pursed her lips before swiping out her phone from her jeans pocket, Marinette looking over her friend’s shoulder to look at the screen of the device. On it were pictures of her transformed, from the time she had dropped by in front of his house before being caught by a fan, to faraway images of her jumping from a building to the side of his house.

 Marinette just about flipped out, snatching the phone away from her friend’s hands. As it turned out, the answer was _really_ to scream out loud.

 “Where’d you get these?” Asked Marinette, inspecting each of the photos. “Did you post them?”

 Alya took the phone away from her friend’s grasp. “No, I want to be sure of what’s going on first,” She slipped the device back into her pocket. “She never goes around there, and she’s always looking over to the mansion each time she stands on that building. Doesn’t it strike you as… suspicious?”

 “Suspicious?” Marinette raised an eyebrow at her friend.

 “Well, yeah. I mean they’re both famous and good-looking, and Adrien obviously has _something_ goin’ on for her,” Alya replied. “Most of the people that sent these think it’s for some other reason, but I’ve got a hunch, and a journalist _always_ gotta follow a hunch,”

 “Well,” Marinette said. “She might just be looking after him. It is her duty to protect the citizens of the city, after all,”

 “But that’s when akumas are around, and she doesn’t go for more than one day,” Alya retaliated. “Someone on the LadyBlog also told me that they saw her go inside the house through one of the windows, but—“

 “Inside?!”

 “Calm down, it was just a rumor,” Alya put a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “I had a feeling you were gonna get all jealous,”

 “Jealous?” Marinette was taken aback. Alya raised an eyebrow.

 “Marinette, this isn’t the first time you’ve gotten jealous over something like this,” Alya put her hands on her friend’s shoulders. Marinette wanted to deny it, but she remembered all those times she fumed when Chloe even had her eyes on the model. “I just want you to be careful, that’s all,”

 Marinette only looked down at her feet as her friend took in a deep breath. “Also, could you help me with the French Lit homework? It’s been giving me trouble,”

 --

 She stood on one of the houses behind the Agreste mansion, hiding behind one of the chimneys. It was a last minute decision of hers to come here. Marinette had just patrolled for what seemed to her a few hours, the sky having become a dark blue so quickly. She was just about to head home, but she had seen the large house from where she had been located on the same fancy restaurant she stood on just two weeks before. She couldn’t really just leave him hanging like that, could she?

 Marinette decided to lay low on her way there, knowing now that there could be people taking photos. It could put Adrien and her in serious trouble with his strict father if anyone published the photos in some sort of way, if they hadn’t already. She was grateful that Alya hadn’t posted the ones she had yet, but she knew the second she got any information that they would be posted on her blog in seconds. She steered clear of busy streets as well, and didn’t stay on the rooftops for long. She also tried to go another way too, and instead of landing on the apartment complex as usual she was on top of a building behind the Agreste mansion. Thankfully, it was a quiet night. Not many tourists or civilians roamed the streets of the City of Love on Wednesdays.

 She was a little worried about the time, though, one of the many things that made her hesitate in visiting Adrien. She never visited so late before, and she was sure that he was sleeping by then. Even if he still didn’t have to go to school.

 She started to wonder if Chat had to go to school either, seeing as how something horrible must’ve happened to him in the past few days to be absent from patrol more often than usual. She hoped he was ok, wherever he was.

 Nights without Chat were usually lonely, as much as she didn’t want to admit it. But in the few days they haven’t met up, the solitude she felt in the night was soon made up for once she visited Adrien. She wondered if these visits would continue for a long time, seeing as how numerous people have already seen her heading over there and she wasn’t sure what would even happen if the news and rumors spread around like wildfire.

 After checking that the coast was clear, Marinette licked her lips, her eyes aiming for the tree just beside his window. Her hand went for her yoyo, and she immediately swung her arm, the string wrapping around the branch. She straightened herself up against the brick material of the chimney and leapt, her hands holding tightly onto the wire.

 Her heart beat faster once her feet touched the bark of the branch. Her back was to his bedroom window, and she really wondered if she should even be there after all.

 Although the publication of their possible “affair” was unwanted by her, she pondered how it would be like if they were actually dating. It was something she’s always wanted ever since that faithful day with the umbrella. She’s just not sure if it’s ideal, seeing that it could put his life at risk if something like that were to happen in her superhero form.

 Either way, she wasn’t sure if that was the way she wanted something to happen between them. She always imagined it as Marinette and Adrien, not Adrien and _Ladybug_. Everyone loves Ladybug, the courageous, the honorable, _the savior_. But it wasn’t who she really was, a clumsy shy girl.

 She shook that thought out of her head. It wasn’t likely that that would happen. Besides, Adrien has only really met up with Ladybug three times. It’d be too quick.

_But the kiss isn’t?_ She thought, sucking in her lips tightly. She tried to convince herself that it wasn’t that big of a deal, and he probably didn’t consider it as romantic either.

 Marinette turned around finally, facing a partially opened window. She was confused by this, seeing as how it was never open before. She moved towards it, jumping off the tree branch and landing on the ledge of the window. She looked through the window pane, but couldn’t see clearly because of the fog on the glass. Biting her lip, she wondered if she should really go inside or not. He might’ve had kept it open because of the sudden warmth in the air, it being usually chilly those days. Feeling as if she was doing something irrational, she slipped in anyway, her arms stiffly by her side once her feet landed on the floor.

 Her blue eyes wandered the wide expanse of the room, until she saw his back turned to her as he lay on the bed. She gulped, telling herself it _really_ wasn’t a good idea to come inside after all.

 She was about to leave, until she heard him speak.

 The noise spooked her, and she quickly turned her head back around. He shuffled in his bed, turning around and facing her direction. She saw how red his face looked, how his eyebrows were so scrunched together. Her eyes widened.

  _Nightmare._

She gingerly made her way to his bed, wanting not to scare him out of his dream. It wasn’t the most pleasant way to be woken up from a nightmare, she having known that from a past experience. It was when he made another sound that she jumped and quickened up her pace, still making sure to walk quietly towards him.

 Her heart beat in anxiety. She _really_ shouldn’t be here. But it was hard to see him like this.

 She wanted to help.

 The best plan she could think of was to at least calm him down without waking him up. She was sure if he acknowledged her presence that night that it wouldn’t end well.

 She was only a few feet away to his bed now, and could visibly see him tremble. And how his hands tightly held on to his bedsheets. Marinette could hear his breath hitch, and it only made her worry even more.

 “Adrien,” She said as soft as she could. She regretted it as soon as she said it, but she noticed that his shivering dialed down from the sound of her voice.

 She put herself in a kneeling position, her knee against the floor. Maybe it was working. “Adrien,” She said more quietly this time, her heart wanting to explode in her chest.

 “Lady—“ He said. Part of her wanted to back out of his room, but she still continued on.

 “Adrien,” Feeling daring, she reached out for his arm, his face relaxing at her touch.

 “You—“ He started saying. “You know who I am,”

 Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. But she didn’t question it, seeing that she had no idea what his dream was about.

 So she only decided to reassure him. “I do,”

 He loosened his grip on the blanket. His hand moved inches away from where her own hand rested on his arm. She froze at that moment.

 “Stay with me,” He said, surprising her with the clarity and urgency in his tone. “Please,”

 So she did, and gently rubbed his arm. Whatever it took to keep him out of his nightmares, she would do.

 They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, his eyes softly closed unlike when she first came in the room. She was grateful for that. Marinette decided it was getting kind of late, and removed her hand from his arm. It was only then that his eyes slowly began to open and she absolutely _regretted_ what she had done.

 “Shhh,” She whispered. “Go back to sleep,”

 Her words didn’t work, since he then sat up from the bed, his eyes partially open and filled with fatigue. Rather than look at her confusedly like she expected, he gave her a worried look.

 “Ladybug?” He asked. “You’re ok,”

 His statement puzzled her. “What?”

 His hand shot up to his face, touching his cheeks and the area around his eyes. “Oh,” His eyes widened and his hand dropped to his side. “ _Oh_ ,”

  “Was it something to do with your nightmare?” She moved closer to him, wanting to touch his arm again but not taking the risk.

 “Yeah,” He said, sounding astonished. “You’re _here_ ,”

 She took a step back. “Did you not want me to come tonight? Because—“

 “ _No_ ,” He interrupted. “No, I wanted you to come. I left the window open, because it was getting so late and I fell asleep on accident a-and—“

 He took in a deep breath. “I didn’t really want to go to sleep, I get nightmares a lot,”

 She put her gloved hand on his cheek. “A lot?”

 He nodded a moment later. “Most days,”

 His good hand moved to where her own was on his face, surprising her. “Thank you,”

 “For what?” She asked.

 “For being here,” To her surprise, he squeezed her hand tighter. “For being so kind,”

 She shrugged. “It’s what I do,”

 He smiled up at her, and she returned the grin. Only just a minute later did her earrings beep, and she cursed herself for having been out so long.

 “I,” She started. “I have to go,”

 He only nodded in response. She slipped her hand from where it was placed on his cheek, and turned around. She ran towards the bedroom window, and slipped out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i believe that after this chapter i'll be moving at a much faster pace, seeing as how i've got a full plan in mind for chaps 6 - 9 or 10, as well as a full outline for chapter 7 and a bit of chapter 6. well, hopefully. school's been bearing down on me so much lately, but seeing as how i haven't been updating as quickly as promised, i really do wish to find some time in the coming weeks to write.   
> feedback is always great!!


	6. gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimmer of a bracelet, the sweet taste of chocolate, the bright red of the ribbons, and one shiny hair pin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think it's pretty obvious i gave up on summaries. oh well.  
> i hate finals and exams in general but i at least actually have parts of chapter seven and eight done.

He hoped he wouldn’t have to deal with anything too difficult that night.

 His hand still wasn’t fully healed, the palm still covered with splotches of purple and blue from when he fell off that building almost a week before. But it had already past four days by then, and he just couldn’t leave Ladybug in the dark for so long. Even if he was practically useless with his injury.

 He was lucky enough that no akumas had emerged in the city those past few days, and he surely didn’t know what he would have done if one of Hawk Moth’s henchmen _had_ actually sprung up. Most likely, he wouldn’t have been able to handle it with his sprained wrist, and Ladybug would have had to go up against the villain herself. Sure, she was a strong fighter, stronger than him especially, but he knew there were times where she needed help of his miraculous and his own strengths in battle.

 Adrien’s been having nightmares about the things that would’ve possibly happened to her in his absence. Recently, along with the feeling of happiness that he always had when she stopped by, he also felt a rush of relief all those times she jumped through his bedroom window, usually in a very happy spirit. Last night, however, had him terrified to no end. He didn’t want to admit it to her, but he was frightened at the prospect of her being hurt at the hands of an akuma. Minutes had turned into hours that past evening and fatigue soon set in, with Plagg also begging him to get sleep that night. He refused at first, his heart pounding in his chest from her absence and all the possible things that could’ve happened to her. But he gave in and fell asleep, and that was when his nightmare began. Remembering what had happened the night before, he almost tripped off what he thought was a beauty salon with his face turning beet red. He remembered how the sound of her voice calmed him, and how worry escaped him once he saw her in front of him.

 She was walking at a much quicker pace than him, having not spoken much for the time they’ve been out patrolling. Ladybug only muttered a greeting before whipping out her yo-yo and swinging it towards an antenna, barely giving any time for Adrien to catch up with her.

 He was starting to get tired by then, the pain in his hand not helping at all. But he couldn’t really take a break after being absent for so long, could he?

 So he kept at it for some time, up until it had past another half-hour and he had noticed that there hadn’t been any suspicious activity. Usually when the city was calm enough, he and Ladybug would just sit down on the ledge of a building for a while, sharing a few words before continuing patrol again. But Ladybug showed no signs of stopping, and there was a certain determination in her gait that made him afraid to say anything.

 Chat being Chat, he still did anyway.

 “Why don’t we sit down?” He asked apprehensively, his voice having gotten smaller with each word he uttered. She hadn’t even paused at his words, and he worried that perhaps she hadn’t heard him. He cleared his throat to grab her attention before speaking again. “It’s pretty calm out,”

 “Exactly,” She responded, stopping where she stood only to turn her head both ways to get a wider scope of the city before moving further to the edge of the building. Her hand reached for her yo-yo, only stopping inches away from it before letting it drop to her side. She turned around, eyes meeting his for a split second before her attention was brought to the concrete beneath her, her lips pursed. “Hawk Moth can send off an akuma at any second, considering the lack of them. He could be planning something big,” She grabbed her yo-yo and swung it to the next building in a split second once Chat was by her side. He followed suit, closer to her than he was moments before. She had evidently begun to slow down after his request to rest, and stopped at each edge for him to catch up with her. Ladybug had passed through a few more buildings before she sat down and huddled her knees to her chest, Chat sitting down next to her. He was grateful that she stopped, but the serious expression on her face accompanied by wide blue eyes very focused on the city made him feel uneasy.

 They sat there in silence for a few moments, Ladybug having barely blinked in that time. He didn’t want to say anything either, fearing that it would only make the mood even more awkward than it already was. He rested his chin on the palm of his hand, having sat in a cross-legged position. His green eyes glanced at her, having caught the twinkle of something silver on her arm. He instantly recognized the bracelet he had given her such a long time ago. A smile grew on his face, and his previous hesitation of speaking had faded away.

 “Admit it, Bugaboo. You’ve missed me,” He said, leaning just a teeny bit closer to her ear.

 His voice startled her at first, making her jolt. The two of them had been quiet for what seemed like a hundred years to him, but a small grin still appeared on her face, she having to bite down on her bottom lip to prevent it from becoming bigger.

 “Surprised you haven’t gotten me anything this time,” She turned her head towards him, their eyes finally meeting for the first time that night.

 His smile grew bigger. “Oh but I haven’t forgotten, m’lady," He turned his body in her direction. “Just haven’t had the time. I’ll be sure to make it super, extra big to make up for my lack of one this evening,”

 She quietly chuckled, her smile becoming smaller to Chat’s dismay. “I hope it’s not a giant box of chocolates,”

 “Chocolates are so customary these days, besides, you deserve something special,”

 Her smile faltered, blue eyes looking towards where her hand lay flat against the roof of the building.

 His face dropped. “What’s wrong?”

 She only shook her head in response.

 They sat there for a few more minutes before she got up, having stood still there until Chat rose up beside her as well. She moved quickly to the next building, Adrien following suit. He wondered what had happened that made her mood drop so quickly.

 Maybe it had something to do with him. Well, not _Chat_ him. _Adrien_ him.

 “Are there are any potential akumas out there?” He asked, his curiosity overcoming his common sense.

 She stopped, and turned around to face him, a look of worry in her blue eyes. She nodded in response.

 “Adrien’s still one of them?” Considering how she witnessed his nightmare last night, he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

 Ladybug became even more concerned at the mention of Chat’s true self, she glancing in the direction of where the Eiffel tower was, his house very near the monument. “I have to go. Tonight,”

 Typically, this sort of announcement would’ve excited him. But seeing how quickly her earrings had rung those past few times, and the weariness apparent in her eyes that night, it didn’t sound like a good idea to him. He truly did want her there, but he didn’t want her to worry so much about him.

 “I don’t think you should go tonight,” Her head jerked in his direction at his words. “You need re-“

 “Are you _jealous_ , Chat?” She stepped closer to him, a fire in her eyes. “I’ll have you know tha—,”

 “I’m just looking out for you!” He said, raising his arms up in the air in innocence. He squeezed his eyes shut, the volume of his voice scaring him. “Y-you _can_ , if you really want to. But you need rest. I can look after him,” He kind of did look after Adrien every day, but not in the way she would think _._ “Just for tonight,”

 Chat slowly lowered his arms before opening his eyes again. Ladybug had her eyebrows furrowed together in thought, perhaps pondering about his offer.

 “Ok,” She responded, reluctance in her tone. “Just for tonight,”

\--

 She came in the afternoon the next day, just around when most schools in Paris were ending.

 They were both sitting cross-legged on the granite floor of his room, the two of them popping chocolates into their mouths. One had landed on her nose and fell straight onto the floor, to which he laughed.

 “Are you still gonna eat it?” He had asked teasingly.

 She scrunched her nose and shook her head in response. He then bent over, stretching out his arm to pick up the chocolate from where it lay on the floor before tossing it in his mouth.

 “I can’t believe you seriously just did that,” She brought a hand up to her forehead, but a smile still danced on her lips. “Good luck getting sick,”

 “My floor is cleaned entirely spotless every day,” He countered. “Ain’t no germs in my room,”

  He hadn’t expected that day to have turned out the way it did. It had been the first time she came during daylight hours, which made him guarded due to the fact that the workers of the house—including Nathalie—could’ve barged in at any given moment. But he was happy that she was there.

 And Chloe had stopped by the day before, bringing a box of Esmond brand chocolates along with her. That, and a dozen kisses that left powdery pink imprints of her lipstick on his cheek and forehead.

 “Adrihoney, sorry I couldn’t get you anything more…” Chloe lamented, both of her hands on her heart. “I’ll be sure to get you something that’ll _surely_ top this measly gift tomorrow,”

 Sabrina had open the bedroom door just a crack then, motioning to Chloe to come closer. Chloe walked over to her friend, Sabrina putting her lips to Chloe’s ear. “It’s delayed,” Sabrina whispered, her voice not so quiet seeing how Adrien was still able to hear.

 Chloe gasped. “How long?”

 Her friend was quiet for a moment, looking down at her shoes before shaking her head. “That’s something I should tell you outside,”

 Chloe’s face had turned an angry red, before Adrien had touched her shoulder and her attention was brought back to him. “Thank you for the gift, Chloe,”

 “B-b-but it’s not as good as the one I was _actually_ going to get you!” Chloe reached into her purse. “Hold on, I’ll just call the company and _maybe_ Daddy and—“

 “Chloe! It’s ok!” Adrien said, nearly laughing. “It makes me very happy that you got this for me. Thank you,”

 The chocolate box was what led them to where they were then, Ladybug popping another chocolate into her mouth. He looked over at the cover of the box, reading “Esmond” in gold cursive letters. It was the same brand of chocolates he had gotten her only hours before he had got his wrist sprained. At that moment, his injury was almost healed, and by the next day the wrap probably wouldn’t be as necessary anymore.

 He expected that Ladybug had recognized the box too, seeing as how the moment she entered his room she eyed the box curiously.

 “Would you like some?” He had asked her once she fully came inside, he having only eaten one chocolate at that point.

 She stayed quiet for a few moments before responding. “Aren’t… aren’t they yours?”

 “Well, I _am_ on a diet,” Adrien replied. “I do like sweets too, but I don’t think eating all of it is a good idea for me. Either way, I’m willing to share,”

 “Are you sure though?” Ladybug stepped closer to where he sat on the ground. “They look… expensive,”

 “It’s alright, I can buy these again at any time,” He ate another chocolate. “Besides, don’t you like these chocolates?”

 Her eyes widened. “What?”

 And that’s when he realized he slipped up.

 His face warmed, Adrien’s mind scrambling for ways to make up for the current situation. “Uh… I mean, everyone likes these chocolates! They’re Paris’s best! I mean, that’s their… uh… _slogan_ ,”

 He swore if he let one more second slide, that the gears that were perhaps already turning in her head the second she saw the box would’ve started turning even more.

 Ladybug gave him another curious look, before slowly nodding and therefore accepting his offer. She sat down, mimicking his seating position. Nervously, he handed her one of the chocolates, she putting it in her mouth.

 After five chocolates later, they had started a contest to see which of the two of them could throw up one of the sweets in the air and have it land in their mouth the most. At that point they were tied after Adrien had barely managed for the chocolate to get in his mouth, it having landed on the corner of his lips. He managed to tilt his head at the right time though, to which Ladybug complained.

 “That shouldn’t count,” She said, giving him one of her pointed looks that he was used to getting as Chat Noir. “Your trajectory was _so_ off,”

 “But it landed in my mouth didn’t it?” He gave her a smug smile along with a wink, Adrien becoming satisfied at the sight of a light pink color staining the part of her cheeks that wasn’t covered up by her mask. The way she reacted to his flirtatious advances as Adrien greatly contrasted to the irritated looks she gave him as Chat. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

 “Uh… it s-sure did,” She said, flustered. Her blue eyes moved to the box. “There’s only one chocolate left,”

 Adrien followed her gaze. “Whoever gets it first wins!”

 They both rushed to reach the chocolate, their hands landing on top of each other. The two jerked their heads up the second their fingers touched, neither of them daring to pull away.

 Adrien smirked. “Your trajectory was off,”

 She bit her lip. “So was yours,”

 They decided to split the chocolate between themselves, neither of them having won.

\--

 He could finally go out in public again the next day.

 But that didn’t have all its merits. The second he had woke up that morning he was dragged off to a photo shoot, specifically one for France’s Teen Sweetheart. It had been delayed for almost a week due to his injury, and in Nathalie’s own words, they couldn’t waste any more time. The magazine had wanted an outdoor photoshoot, specifically in the Place des Vosges, where he had another photo shoot earlier that year.

 The makeup artists prepped him up, covering the remaining bruises on his hands with foundation. He was then sent in front of the fountain, instantaneously striking his signature poses once he saw the flash of the camera.

 “Hey Adrien!” The photographer had said from behind her camera. “Mess up your hair a little bit; show us your _rebellious_ side,”

 He could hear the hair stylist gasp in horror from where she stood. Adrien stifled a laugh and ran a hand through his hair, then shaking his it to make sure to make it extra messy. Strands of his golden tresses covered his forehead and even partially blocked his view. He shot a mischievous smirk at the camera, the photographer hollering in approval.

 “This’ll be the most successful cover yet!” She stated as he struck another pose. “That’s all I need, I know for sure which pictures will go in the magazine,”

 He nodded his thanks, seeing the Gorilla pulling up behind the steel bars of the park. He neatly parted his hair, feeling as if his father would be furious if he saw his blonde locks in such a disarray and walked over to where the limousine was parked. He waved a hello to his bodyguard, the Gorilla grunting back in a form of greeting.

 “Your father flew off to Italy this afternoon,” Said the Gorilla once Adrien buckled his seatbelt. “You can choose the place you want to eat today,”

 His father being absent was a very typical thing to happen, but it still saddened Adrien. However, the Gorilla and even Nathalie were more liberating with him when his father wasn’t watching. He hated to admit it, but he felt like a burden was lifted off his shoulders when his father wasn’t around to watch every single move of his. His two caretakers giving him more freedoms as well, but still keeping him under close watch. They were his father’s employees, after all.

 “Hmm,” Adrien responded. “My friend’s bakery is nearby. I could just walk there,”

 “But I need to drive you,”

 “No, no! It’s ok,” Adrien’s hand was on the door handle. “Save gas, reduce smog. Even take a break if you want to,”

  Adrien flashed his bodyguard a reassuring smile before he closed the door, hearing The Gorilla groan in frustration from the inside. He’s learned to tolerate Adrien’s antics when his father was gone at that point, but he always became irritated. However, he never told on him or berated him. And Adrien was thankful for that.

 He walked to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, opening the doors and soon hit by the heavenly aroma of fresh bread. Adrien found his classmate Marinette working at the counter, diligently organizing the bills at the register.

 “Hold on a second, I’ll be right with you!” Marinette stated, her eyes not moving away from the Euros she shuffled in her hand. A bit of her tongue stuck out of her mouth in concentration.

 He moved closer to the counter, looking at the treats on display in the glass cases in front of him. Adrien caught sight of a simple vanilla cupcake in the corner, and thought it would be enough to suffice his hunger. He _had_ had a big breakfast that morning.

 “Alright, what would you—“ He looked up at the sound of her voice, she giving him a surprised look. Marinette immediately reached for where her earrings were placed, before her hands dropping down to her sides. “Adrien? Oh, uhhh, w-what would you like today?”

 “Just a vanilla cupcake,” He pointed to where the pastry was placed in the glass case. She immediately leaned over and stretched out her arm to grab the cupcake. That’s when he had noticed the ribbons that tied her pigtails, they being red with black polka dots unlike the plain red ones she usually wore. They looked almost identical to the ones he had given Ladybug almost an eternity ago. He had seen Ladybug wear them a few times, and he began to wonder if stores had begun to produce them more than they already were after seeing the superhero sport the ribbons.

 “Where’d you get your ribbons from?” He asked with too much excitement in his voice. Marinette had just begun sliding the cupcake across the counter when he asked the question. Straightaway, one of her hands went to her ribbon, her other one busy tapping her chin in thought.

 “Uhhh,” Her eyes looked at the counter. “A good friend gave them to me,”

 “Ah,” He responded, taking the cupcake from where she left it on the counter. “They look nice! The color red looks good on you,”

 In that second, her own face turned red. “T-thanks,”

\--

 He finally went back to school on Monday.

 He was met by a rather tight hug from Nino, which came as unexpected to Adrien. His friend then went to mess up his hair, Adrien swatting his hand to ward off the attacker. The two laughed as Adrien brushed his fingers through his hair, attempting to make it neat again.

 “Dude, where have you been!?” Nino exclaimed.

 “You know where I’ve been,” Adrien replied half-laughing. “The public can’t see me with an injury,”

 “Who cares about the public!? I’ve been here all by myself. I was even paired up with Chloe with a project,”

 “What’s so wrong about that?” Adrien raised an eyebrow at his friend.

 “That means I have to do all the work,” Nino poked his friend’s shoulder. “And you know how I am about projects!”

 “While I did do all of the math for the physics project,” Adrien said, the two boys beginning to walk to class. “You did make the board look mighty spiffy, if I do say so myself,”

 “And pretty much brought the house down with the background music,” Nino replied pridefully.

  As they walked to their first class of the day, Nino caught Adrien up on the things that had happened while he was gone. All in all, nothing of interest had happened, not even someone getting suspended by the hands of Chloe.

 They entered Madame Bustier’s classroom, sliding into their seats. Alya said a quick hello, soon asking Adrien how he was fairing now that he didn’t have to wear the wrap anymore. Marinette stayed quiet next to Alya with her hands neatly folded on the desk.

 Madame Bustier came in moments after, and began the lesson.

 Fencing practice had ran short that day, and Adrien decided to visit the Place des Vosges before calling the Gorilla to head home. It was too beautiful a day to not fully appreciate, and the grass was looking especially green that day.

 He sat down on a bench near the park’s fountain, admiring the clear, gleaming water falling as if it were silk. The bright sun beat down on his face, the cool early October wind blowing through the trees.    Adrien wished he could’ve stayed there all day, but he knew that even though Nathalie was more lenient than his father that she would reprimand him for not calling the instant practice ended and going to the park instead. Adrien guessed he had about an hour or so before he had to head back to the school. But he didn’t want to leave yet.

 He swore he could almost hear an orchestra of pianos and harps playing in the distance. Maybe an orchestra had decided to play in the park. Adrien started tapping his foot to the tune, it being one of the loveliest he’s ever heard.

 That was when he felt a cold hand touch his shoulder. He turned around to see a woman with teal skin, golden musical notes imprinted on her left cheek matching the notes on her black cat suit. And one golden pin pulling back some of the strands of her hair, the hairstyle and the accessory looking oddly familiar to him.

 And that’s when he felt something lift him off his feet.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> looking at the stuff i've written for chapter 7, i can already tell it's going to be my favorite chapter to write. somewhat. it'll certainly be less of a struggle than this one, which is more like filler to me. but i put in some (very obvious) foreshadowing so... *shrug emoji*


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